Different Promises
by lighthawkdemon1
Summary: A terrible tragedy followed by a new promise ten years ago changes Keitaro. Now he is a Tokyo U student and has just received an interesting fax from his grandma...
1. The Tragedy of Youth

**Love Hina  
**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga, since I haven't watched any of the anime, though I will watch them all…soon. What? Why are you giving me that look? I will watch them! I promise.  
_

**Different Promises  
****Chapter 1:  
****The Tragedy of Youth  
**

A ten-year-old boy and his six-year-old adopted sister are playing outside their home, having the time of their lives without a care in the world at the moment. The young girl is smiling and laughing like a normal child her age should, something only her 'oniichan' has ever had the fortune of witnessing. She is normally very quiet and reserved and has a great dislike for sweets, but when she is around her dear Keitaro, she opens herself up and shows him the real Kanako underneath.

"Catch it Kanako!" Keitaro shouts as he tosses a large red ball at her. She spreads out her arms and easily catches the ball. "Alright!" he cheers, "good job!" he claps and smiles warmly, causing the young girl's heart to melt. For as long as she has known Keitaro, she has been in love with him, and with a deeper and much more prominent way than just plain sibling love. Her oniichan has always been kind hearted and honest with her and, in her eyes, he is the only person who truly cares about her and will always be there for her.

"Okay oniichan, now your turn!" Kanako pulls back and tosses the ball back towards her older brother. Keitaro gets his hands around it when the ball slips out of his grasp and smacks him straight on his face, knocking the young boy onto his back. In the blink of an eye, his adopted sister is at his side, helping to pull him up to his feet. "Oh I'm so sorry oniichan! Are you okay?"

Keitaro rubs the back of his head and chuckles embarrassedly, a bandage mysteriously appearing on his forehead where the ball hit him. "I'm fine, the ball just slipped." He looks behind him, where the big red ball is still rolling along their front yard. "Don't worry about the ball, I got it!" The young boy turns around and chases after the ball, which is about to go onto the street ahead.

Kanako lets out a genuine smile at her brother, but it is quickly replaced by a look of pure horror as she sees the swerving and speeding car that is rapidly approaching her beloved oniichan, who is too busy trying to grab the elusive ball to notice it. As fast as her small legs can carry her, Kanako rushes over to Keitaro, shouting, "Oniichan! _Noooo_!"

The young boy smiles triumphantly as he finally manages to pick up the ball. "Gotcha!" He turns around towards his adopted sister, just in time to see her rushing towards him, tears pouring from her eyes, and the car about to hit him to his right. His eyes widen as Kanako pushes him out of the way, and then she disappears as the car hits her full on. He is completely speechless as the vehicle comes screeching to a halt several feet ahead and the red ball rolls to a stop right at his feet. Time seems to slow down as a crumpled figure falls onto the ground in front of him. Before Keitaro knows what is going on, his is suddenly rushing over and lifting up the small and bloody figure that is his younger sister. "K...Kanako...no..." Tears come rushing out as he takes in all the major cuts and bruises on her tiny body.

The young girl slowly opens her eyes, her vision blurred and her body racked with pain. She raises her right arm, her left arm being broken and gently places it on his cheek. "Please...don't cry oniichan," she turns her head and coughs violently, a little bit of blood dribbling off of her lips. By now, a small crowd has formed, all of them realizing that there isn't much life left in the young girl and respectfully letting her say her last words.

"Kanako," the young Keitaro cries, "why? Why did you do that?"

The dark haired girl breathes in deeply, wincing mildly in pain. "I didn't want you to die oniichan," she weakly answers. "I didn't want to be alone."

"But I don't want you to die Kanako. I love you, I don't want you to go away."

The young girl's eyes shine in happiness at his words. Though she knows he meant that he loves her as his sister, it is still heartening to hear those words coming from his mouth and directed towards her. "Please...can you do one thing for me Keitaro?"

His breath catches in his throat. That is the first time she has called him by his name. She has always called him 'oniichan'. "Yes. Anything Kanako. I'll do anything you want."

"I..." she pauses as she starts to cough again. "I want you to get into Tokyo University...for me. I want you to get in just for me, and not that other girl."

Keitaro is momentarily stunned. Five years ago he made a promise to a girl at his grandmother's inn that they would get into Tokyo University together. The promise and the girl have always been on his mind, something that has been a source of great jealousy for Kanako. As the young boy looks at his adopted sister's face, the whole memory of the girl and the promise fade away. "Yes," he replied firmly, taking her good hand into his free one. "I'll do it for you Kanako. I'll make it into Tokyo University for you."

Kanako sighs happily upon hearing this. "Thank you...thank you so much." The normal shine in her eyes begins to fade as her breathing becomes very shallow. It is time. Kanako, with her last breath, kisses Keitaro's hand and whispers, "I...love you onii...chan..." and then her body goes limp, her short life leaving her.

Sobs and tears filter through the crowd, everyone deeply saddened at the child's death. Ambulance sirens are heard in the distance as Keitaro and Kanako's mother comes rushing out of their house, having been in the basement cleaning and not knowing of the tragedy that has just occurred. The woman shrieks in terror as she realizes that the crumpled lifeless form that her son is holding is her adopted daughter. She falls to her knees and takes her from Keitaro, tears silently escaping her.

The young boy stands up and wipes the tears from his eyes, a fierce determination appearing in them. He looks down at his bloodstained hands and whispers, "_I promise_."

* * *

**Ten Years Later...**

* * *

A twenty-year-old man is busy digging into the hard earth on a secluded island in the Pacific Ocean. Sweat drips off his body as the bright early morning sun beams its powerful rays down on him. He pauses for a moment to wipe his brow and take a quick drink from the water bottle next to him. He takes off his small, brand new rectangular frame glasses and wipes them clean on his shirt. He picks up his pickaxe and is about to go back to digging when a voice from behind interrupts him. "Hey! Part-timer!"

Keitaro turns around and sees his mentor/good friend/archaeology instructor running up to him. "Hello Seta." He notices that the older man is holding a piece of paper. "What's that?"

Seta smiles his good-natured smile and hands it over to the somewhat younger version of himself. "It's a fax I just got from Granny Hina, addressed to you." He pauses for a moment to observe him. "You trying to copy me or something part-timer?"

The young Urashima looks up with a confused expression. "What do you mean?" Seta reaches up and taps his glasses. "Oh! These? I...uh, well I tripped over one of those pots and my other glasses...broke." He rubs the back of his head as his mentor chuckles. "I went to get them repaired, but I saw these and I always thought yours were cool so..." he trails off, looking away.

The Tokyo U instructor pats his student on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it Urashima, I don't mind at all." He nods down at the paper in Keitaro's hands. "I think you should read that, it might be important."

"Wha...oh yeah!" Keitaro quickly reads the short note and frowns. "Grandma wants me to come back to Japan and go to her old inn. She says it's urgent." His thoughts are interrupted by Seta grabbing his arm and dragging him away from the dig site. "Huh? Hey! Seta...what are you doing?"

Seta stops for a moment to smile at his favorite 'part-timer'. "Well the old lady wants you back home, so I think you should get moving."

"B...but what about the dig? I can't just leave it now!"

The older man shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you're going back Japan in a little over a week any way. And you've got classes in Tokyo U starting soon. You're going to start your third year, a really pivotal year, and I want you to get that degree in archaeology so I can make you my assistant."

Keitaro sighs deeply. "Yeah, you're right. I just really like it here and I'm having loads of fun!"

Seta looks off into the distance, at the endless desert. "We have been having fun, and things have been going along rather smoothly...but we're almost done here for now. Me and Sarah will be back in a few months so I can get back to teaching at the University, though I will admit it won't be the same here without you."

"Heh, I feel so loved!" Both men share a good laugh at this. The young Urashima sighs again. "Well I guess I should go to the airport, I don't want to keep Grandma waiting too long for me." He takes a glance at his wristwatch. "And the only plane leaving today is leaving in a couple of hours."

The archaeology instructor grabs his protégé and drags him off again. "Well then let's get moving! It'll take about an hour to make it to town so if we leave now, we'll have some extra time to make sure you're all packed up and say goodbye."

"Alright, let's go!"

* * *

A little over an hour later, Keitaro, Seta, his young 'daughter' Sarah and a young local teenage girl named Nyamo who has occasionally helped with translating some of the ancient ruins, are all at the departure gate at the local airport, three of the four members wishing goodbye and good luck to the fourth member. Nyamo rushes up to Keitaro, gives him a small gift, then bows hurriedly before turning around and hiding behind Seta, blushing deeply.

The Tokyo U student chuckles slightly. "**Thank you Nyamo. I will miss you**," he tells her in rather good English. The young Pararakelsian girl blushes even deeper and tries unsuccessfully to hide her face.

Seta walks up to Keitaro and the two shake hands. "See you around part-timer."

"Yeah," Sarah adds from on top of her papa's shoulders, "and don't get beat up too badly by girls dork."

Keitaro shakes his head slightly, but still smiling. Sarah has, for some odd reason, constantly called him a dork. But since she's just a little eight-year-old girl, he doesn't let it bother him. "I'll try not to Sarah. Bye Seta." He turns around and walks into the airplane, waving to his three friends.

* * *

The long plane ride back to Japan goes along smoothly, a pretty young flight attendant even compliments Keitaro on his nice light tan. The young Tokyo U student blushes deeply, not used to being complimented, especially by a woman. Ever since that tragic day ten years ago, Keitaro has felt uncomfortable getting close to women. He has gotten close to two girls on his life, one left him fifteen years ago and he hasn't seen or heard from her since and the other died terribly ten years ago, and that has affected him on a deep emotional level.

Before that day ten years ago, Keitaro was very clumsy and used to trip and fall onto girls, usually touching something he shouldn't or just land in a compromising situation, but he changed after that sorrowful day. He still is slightly clumsy, but not to the extent he once was. After he made the promise to his dearly departed sister, he became more focused and driven, almost like an obsession. He never spoke much to others in school, and because of that he didn't have many friends, save for Haitani and Shirai, and he has never had a girlfriend, his level of discomfort around them also coming into affect. His fear of loosing them if he gets too close completely and utterly terrifies him.

Some time later, the plane has landed in Tokyo International Airport and Keitaro makes his way out over to the baggage claim. After grabbing his suitcase, he leaves the airport and gets a cab to the Hinata District. Soon familiar sights from his childhood appear all around him. A soft smile spreads on his face as the cab nears his first destination, The Café Hinata, owned and run by his Aunt Haruka.

After getting out of the cab and paying the fare, Keitaro walks into his aunt's café, the bell above the door ringing as he enters. It is exactly as he remembered it, tidy and quaint. There are a few customers inside, drinking tea and calmly reading the daily newspaper. The door to the kitchen opens and Haruka Urashima comes walking out, carrying a tray of drinks and snacks. She hasn't changed either: still wearing her usual Café Hinata garb, complete with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

Haruka looks over at the entrance and sees her nephew standing there, a small smile on his face and a suitcase and a large duffel bag at his side. She calmly gives the customers their orders then makes her way over to Keitaro. "Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" she says, a hint of amusement on her face. "I wasn't expecting you to come home so soon."

"Well what can I say? Grandma's message seemed urgent so I got on the first flight back." He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. He takes another look around. "So how's business been doing Aunt Haruka?" He goes in for a hug, but she swiftly moves aside and whacks him over the head with a fan that appeared in her hands.

"What did I tell you about that word?" she sternly warns. "Just call me Haruka."

Keitaro shakes his head defiantly. "Sorry, but that wouldn't be proper or polite." He tries to smile sinisterly, but it comes out looking awkward, seeing as how his aunt knows all too well of his kind-hearted nature. "Okay, I won't call you that word." Keitaro taps his chin in thought. "How about I just call you _old lady_?" He chuckles heartedly at Haruka and just manages to dodge the punch that was aimed for the top of his head.

"Watch your step wise guy." The slightly older woman tries to give her nephew a stern look, but he just deflects it with a goofy smile. She sighs slightly, closing her eyes in agitation. She opens one eye after a second, smiling again. "So tell me Keitaro, how are Sarah and that big jerk doing?"

The young Urashima male sits down at a nearby table. "Sarah's fine, but she still insists on calling me a dork." At this, Haruka snorts in amusement while taking a puff from her cigarette. "Seta's...well...he's just Seta." Keitaro leans back on the chair. "He wanted me to take with me some lingerie he bought and give it to you, but I didn't want to carry any of those things with my stuff," he finishes with a blush.

Haruka sits down opposite her nephew, shaking her head. "That lug will never learn." She looks at the door as several people enter. "Oh, sorry to cut this chat short, but I have customers to attend to." She stands up and walks over to where the customers have just taken their seats, getting back to work.

Keitaro smiles as he stands up and grabs his bags. He exits the café and makes the short trek to his grandmother's old inn, where she should be waiting for him. "Well, now it's time to find out why Granny Hina wants me here so much," he mutters out loud to himself.

Back inside the Café Hinata, Haruka has just finished serving the customers. She turns to where her nephew is sitting, only to discover that he has left. She shakes her head while holding out her cigarette. "Damn, I should've told him that Grandma Hina hasn't been here for nearly a year and old inn is now a girls dormitory. Oh well, I just hope there's still something left of him when those girls get their hands on him."

Kietaro smiles as he gazes on at the grand old building he used to visit when he was just a child. He drops his suitcase and duffel bag and spreads his arms open, as if he is trying to hug the very large building. "Here it is! The hotel grandma runs, The Hinata House!"

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's notes**: Well this is my first Love Hina fanfic, and I think it's starting off well. I just hope you feel the same way. In later chapters, I'm going to incorporate a lot of the manga into the story, with a slight twist here and there due to Keitaro's different personality. See how the girls react to a more mellow and successful Keitaro - _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon**(at)**Y!**


	2. The Male of Hinata House

**Love Hina   
**  
  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.  
  
Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga, since I haven't watched any of the anime, though I will watch them all as soon as I possibly can. Hey…what's that thing in your hands? Wait! Don't hit me! No! Okay, okay! I'm going to buy all of the "Love Hina" anime DVDs! I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 2:  
The Male of Hinata House   
**  
  
Keitaro Urashima is about to enter The Hinata House, when he notices the sign on the left side of the door. "Girls Dormitory: Hinata House?" His eyebrows rise in surprise. "When did this place become a dorm just for girls? I think Grandma left a few details out in that fax." He cautiously makes his way inside, sliding the door open and looking around hurriedly. "I'd better watch my step in here," he thinks out loud. "I don't want any girls seeing me exploring around and thinking I'm some kind of pervert or something."  
  
The Tokyo U student slides the door shut behind him and takes his shoes off, placing them next to four other pairs on the floor. "Hello? Anyone home?" he calls out. After a few moments with no response, he begins to rub the back of his head. "Grandma?" he shouts, this time a little louder. "It's your grandson, Keitaro. I...I got your fax. It looked kind of urgent, is something wrong?" Still, nobody answers. Keitaro walks in a few more steps, adjusting the strap of the book bag that is hung over his shoulder. "Where're grandma and everyone else? I expected someone to have heard me and come here to inspect all the noise."  
  
Shaking his head, he walks into the living room and places his things down next to the couch. "Maybe I should go looking for one of the girls who live here and ask where grandma's at. They could also tell me why this place is now a girls dorm." He smiles and nods slightly. "Yeah, that's the sensible thing to do." He reaches into his duffel bag and pulls out the fax he just received earlier. "Hopefully somebody can possibly make sense of this fax and why it's so vague." He stands back up and begins to walk around the first floor.  
  
As he nears the hot spring area, a young girl carrying a basket of clothes comes walking out of a door to his right, the laundry room. She looks to be in her early teens, judging by the middle school uniform she has on. She definitely appears to be foreign, seeing as how she has dark skin, blonde hair, carefree green eyes and a small black dot in between her eyebrows. The young girl pauses and turns to look at Keitaro. She quickly runs up to him, a bright smile on her face. "Heyas!" she cheerily greets. "Are you here to play with me?"  
  
Keitaro rubs the back of his head again. "Um...not exactly. Do you know where Grandma Hinata is?"  
  
The foreign girl is about to say something when suddenly another young girl comes walking out of another room behind them, which Keitaro remembers as leading to the kitchen. She has short very dark purple hair and kind blue eyes and is holding a soup ladle in her left hand. "Su, is that you making all that noise?" She stops as she sees Keitaro. "Oh, I didn't know we had a guest."  
  
The Urashima male decides to take this opportunity to introduce himself. He takes a step back and bows formally. "Hello there, I am Keitaro Urashima."  
  
The purple haired girl tilts her head to the side slightly. "Urashima? Are you related to Granny Hina or Miss Haruka?"  
  
Keitaro is about to respond when two very pretty women emerge from the hot spring area, both clad in only white towels. The one with long reddish brown hair and brown eyes starts to say, "Hey, what's going on in here? Kitsune and I thought we heard a guy talk..." and trails off as she and the other girl with short light brown hair and squinted fox eyes notice Keitaro. The long haired girl quickly hides behind her friend, blushing lightly. Her head appears from the side, an angry scowl distorting her pretty features. "What are you doing here?" she growls menacingly at him. "This is an all girls dormitory! What are you, some kind of peeping tom pervert?"  
  
"A _pervert_?" asks a voice ahead of everyone. They all turn to see yet another young woman, this one in her mid teens. She has straight, long raven black hair and a very eloquent stature, though the samurai sword in her left hand and the accusing look in her narrowed soft brown eyes instantly makes the Tokyo U student nervous. "Males are not allowed in the Hinata House," she states in a calm, yet stern voice. "I ask you now to leave politely, but if you are a pervert," she pauses to raise up her sword and start to unsheathe it, "I will show you no mercy."  
  
"_What_!? No!" Keitaro replies, looking offended and slightly frightened. He holds out the fax in front of all of the girls. The girl they called Kitsune takes it while he bows again. "Like I told the two younger girls, my name is Keitaro Urashima. Granny Hina is my grandmother. She sent me this fax this morning telling me to come here." He waits for all the girls to read the fax to confirm what he just said. "Do any of you know where my grandmother is? And why is this place a girls dorm?"  
  
The long haired girl behind Kitsune begins to move away from her friend to address the stranger, oblivious to the fox eyed girl's evil smirk and the hand that has grabbed her towel. She starts off saying, "Well Granny Hin..." but freezes as her towel falls to the ground. Keitaro quickly turns around, a heavy blush on his face and a slight dribble of blood coming from his nose. The long haired girl hurriedly pulls her towel back up, also blushing heavily. While holding her towel up with her left hand, she squeezes her right into a fist.  
  
Keitaro starts to slowly turn back around. "Is it safe to look?" His eyes go wide as he sees the girl arching her arm back for a fierce punch.  
  
She screams, "**Iron Punch**!" as she throws all her might into the blow, aiming directly for the face of the 'pervert'.  
  
The young Urashima swiftly dodges the blow, rolling away on the floor. The samurai girl notices his movements and stores them away for later use. "What the hell was that for?!" Keitaro shouts while getting to his feet. "I didn't do anything!"  
  
"You saw you pervert!" the crazy girl shrieks, her face fuming with anger. She begins to advance on him again when Kitsune grabs her from behind, holding her back.  
  
"Whoa there Naru! I think you should calm down."  
  
Just then, Haruka comes walking in, calmly smoking her cigarette. She takes in the scene in front of her and smirks ever so slightly. "You're still in one piece Keitaro, I'm impressed."  
  
Keitaro walks up to her. "Aunt Haruka," he pauses as she whaps him over the head again, "can you please tell me what's going on here?"  
  
______  
  
A little while later, the entire group is in the living room. Naru and Kitsune have changed into something more decent, though Naru constantly glares over at the younger Urashima in the room, her fists clenching and unclenching. Keitaro rubs the back of his head after hearing the news about his grandmother. "So grandma isn't here?"  
  
"That's right," Haruka calmly answers. "She went on a world-wide sightseeing tour a year ago." She pauses to take a puff from her cigarette. "We just get faxes from her once in a while." She leans back in her chair and crosses her legs. "She's looking for new thrills in life and wanted some extra funds so she took this old failing inn and turned it into a girls dorm.  
  
"Well that explains the changes, but why did she want me here?"  
  
The older Urashima calmly reaches in her back pocket and unfolds a sheet of paper. "I got this fax this morning, probably around the same time you got yours. Grandma would like for you to stay here, but she didn't say why."  
  
Naru quickly stands up and shouts, "Absolutely not!" Kitsune once again restrains her friend from behind while she walks up to Keitaro. "This is a girls dorm! We can't let a sicko like you stay another minute!"  
  
The fox desperately tries to hold Naru back, saying, "Cool your jets," and, "Calm down Naru," softly to her, hoping to get her to not thrash around so much.  
  
"And just what makes me a sicko?" Keitaro asks Naru, his annoyance at the crazy girl staring to rise. She is about to answer, but the Tokyo U student waves his hand, halting her. "Yeah, I know, I saw you naked, but jeeze, you're acting like I took your towel off. Why are you getting so mad over a little accident?"  
  
Naru opens her mouth to speak, but pauses for a moment and slowly closes it, sitting back down on one of the couches and blushing slightly. "He still shouldn't stay here," she whispers, placing her hands in her lap.  
  
The samurai girl, who has been standing near Kitsune and the young purple haired girl, decides to add in her opinion. "I must agree with Narusegawa on this. Though he has done no dishonorable deeds towards us, he is still a male, and there is no place for a male in this place now. Though I usually always agree with the decisions that Grandmother Hinata makes, this is one I cannot accept."  
  
Keitaro smiles kindly at her. "I understand where you're going. Grandma's a great person, but I have no idea what she could have been thinking. I can't ask you to let a guy stay in a girls dorm." He stands up and grabs his suitcase and duffel bag. "I'll be leaving now. I'm sorry to have bothered you girls." He starts to walk away, when Haruka blocks his path.  
  
"Are you sure about this Keitaro? This place may be old, but it's still quite nice. And I know you'd have saved on rent here, what with going to Tokyo U and all."  
  
The Urashima male nods slightly. "Yeah, you're right. I would've like having some extra money to..." he trails off as one of the girls begins to speak.  
  
"T-T-Tokyo U?!" Suddenly four of the five girls are in his face, all having shocked expressions on their faces and simultaneously shouting, "_Tokyo__University_?!"  
  
Keitaro backs up a step, a sweatdrop forming on his head. "Yeah, I'm a student at Tokyo U."  
  
The foreign girl walks up to him, a curious look on her face. "What's Tokiyo-Ewe? A snack?" All the girls are used to her constant questions on what is edible so they let the question pass. Keitaro raises an eyebrow at her odd question, but decides not to answer her for the moment.  
  
Haruka walks up behind her nephew and places a hand on his shoulder. "Our whole family was quite proud of him when he got in, none of us thought he was going to pass the entrance exams."  
  
The foreign girl looks over at the samurai girl and asks, "Does Tokiyo-Ewe taste good?" This question also goes on unanswered.  
  
"I knew I was going to pass," the Tokyo U student confidently responds, an old fierce determination reappearing in his eyes. "I had to keep my promise to her," he whispers so low that no one else hears him.  
  
Kitsune closes the distance between her and Keitaro, making the young man nervous. "So mister big-shot Tokyo U student, what are you studying?" She wraps her arm around him and gives him a foxy grin.  
  
Her nearness is beginning to make him uncomfortable. "I...I'm studying archaeology. It's really..." he is cut off as the fox eyed girl rushes over to her house mates.  
  
"Did you hear?! An archaeology major! He's going to be a world famous archaeologist and might even get his own show on television!!" Her eyes open a bit as a devious plan starts to unfold in that strange, money hungry mind of hers. 'This guy is studying to become an archaeologist and his grandmother owns this dorm?' she thinks to herself. 'In a few years he's gonna be super loaded...and he's not too bad looking either...this is my chance!'  
  
Haruka notices the look on Kitsune's face. She shakes her head and sighs deeply. "I hope that boy lasts long enough here to graduate," she mumbles as she finishes off her cigarette.  
  
The fox eyed girl turns to her friends, a bright smile on her face. "How 'bout it guys?! Granny had a good idea with this one, so why don't we let him stay like she wanted? Of course," she adds, turning towards Keitaro, "this is still a girls dorm, so stay in line and don't get all pervy on us and we won't be forced to toss you out on your butt!"  
  
The young Urashima holds his hands up defensively. "Hey, I had no such thoughts going on! I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm a respectably guy towards girls!"  
  
The samurai girl nods lightly. "I suppose I will agree to him staying as well. As a university student, we should be able to trust his words."  
  
"Yeah! I want him to stay too!" the young purple-haired girl squeals, clasping her hands together.  
  
The foreign girl, who Keitaro now remembers was called Su, hops onto his shoulders suddenly, causing him to stumble a bit, and wraps her arms around his neck. "I wants Tokiyo-Ewe to stay too! He's funny!" She giggles and lets go and begins to run around the room.  
  
Naru stands back up, visibly upset. "But this isn't right! This is still a girls dorm! You can't just change that on a whim! He shouldn't be allowed to stay here at all!"  
  
Kitsune rests her head against her hand, a small smile on her face. "I thought you were also gunnin' for Tokyo U Naru. It'd be nice to have somebody around with some first hand experience." She looks over to the samurai girl. "Don't you agree Motoko?"  
  
The young woman now dubbed as Motoko nods ever so slightly, her body barely even moving from her spot on the couch. "Yes Kitsune, you are correct. He could provide substantial information to help make your own entrance easier. Besides, we all know him now and he seems trustworthy. It would be rather rude to kick him out now."  
  
Su dances around Naru, saying, "Don't be a meanie!"  
  
Kitsune smiles and joins the foreign girl and they dance around their friend, singing, "Meanie! Meanie! Old hag! Meanie!"  
  
Haruka starts up a new cigarette, smirking the entire time. 'It didn't take very long for everyone to welcome you in Keitaro,' she thinks to herself. She takes a quick glance at Naru, who is remaining very still, though a vein is throbbing on her forehead. "Well...almost everyone," she adds out loud with a snort of amusement.  
  
Su and Kitsune continue on with their dance, the purple haired girl standing nearby looking both anxious and hesitant to join. Finally, Naru gives in. "_Fine_!" she shouts, halting the two girls' dance. "We'll welcome him in...for now."  
  
The four other girls smile happily and shout, "Welcome to Hinata House!" to their newest member, Keitaro Urashima, the first ever male resident to live in the Hinata House Girls Dormitory.   
  
  
**To be continued...**  
  
______  
  
**Author's notes**: Well...chapter 2 is now in the wraps. It isn't as long as I had wanted it to be, but I didn't know what else to add in. Like I said before in chapter 1's notes, I will be taking a lot from the manga for a while, and of course making changes and twists here and there due to Keitaro's different status and more mellow clumsiness. There will be some areas in the manga that I will not add in, since I don't think I can change them too much, but I will mention them as having happened in between 'takes'.  
  
Oh yeah, I've been getting an idea for another Love Hina fanfic. It's gonna be a semi lemony one, my first partial attempt. It will take place in manga volume 14, a couple of months after they get back to the Hinata House from Molmol. I'll describe more in chapter 3's notes so stay tuned! - _lighthawkdemon_  
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	3. Mixed Confrontations

**Love Hina   
**  
  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.  
  
Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga, since I haven't watched any of the anime, though I will watch them all. Oh yes, tremble in fear, I am about to say those two deadly words that will change everything: I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 3:  
Mixed Confrontations   
**  
  
A couple of hours later, Keitaro is relaxing in the Landlord's Room, which used to be his grandmothers. Everyone agreed that the room would suite the new resident well enough. He just finished unpacking all of his clothes and personal items. After the Tokyo U student was welcomed into the Hinata House, he was introduced to all of the girls properly, since he knew only a few of their names. "What a colorful bunch," he chuckles out loud.  
  
The young man stretches and looks up, only to pause as he notices a good sized hole in the ceiling. "Now that's a big hole!" he remarks, standing up and eyeing it while shaking his head. He moves a table underneath it and places a stool on top of the table. "I can't believe grandma would leave something like this. Then again," he adds, stopping for a moment in thought, "I noticed a lot of run-down spots here and there. Maybe I can fix some things up. I did do a lot of work like that back at home with Dad." Carefully, he stands on top of the stool and inspects the hole.  
  
Keitaro reaches up and his hand raps against a soft piece of plywood. "Hmm...someone put a lid on here..." he raps his knuckles against it to check if someone's on the other side. He waits a few seconds for a response, but none comes. He raps on the lid one more time, just to be on the safe side. When nobody answers, he slowly pushes the lid open and peeks in. It looks like just any other room in the Hinata House, and judging by the appearance of little personal knick-knacks here and there, somebody is living in this room. The Urashima male is about to duck back down, when the door in front of him opens and the long-haired violent girl Naru Narusegawa comes walking in, looking upset.  
  
"I can't believe I allowed that pervert to stay here," she mumbles grumpily. "I'm gonna find a way to throw him out on his ass the first ch..." she trails off as she sees the panel with her precious Liddo-kun doll on is lifted up and the 'pervert' is underneath it, peeking in on her. Her entire body seizes up as her fury quickly rises. "You...you..._PERVERT_!!" Naru shouts as she rushes up to the hole on her floor, preparing to soccer kick that pervert into oblivion.  
  
Keitaro's eyes widen as her watches the crazy girl getting ready to kick him. Thinking quickly, he lets go of the lid and ducks down, just mere milliseconds before the foot-to-head collision. "Yikes, that was close!"  
  
Naru screams for a second as her entire body is lifted off of the ground, the momentum of her leg from missing Keitaro's head forcing her to flip up into the air. The floor shakes slightly as she lands hard on her back. The temperamental girl sits up slowly, a defeated look on her face. She crawls over to her doll, which rolled aside when Keitaro dropped the lid it was on, and hugs it close. "Today is just not going my way Liddo-kun." Naru stands up and walks over to her balcony, gazing out at the lovely view. A sigh below her catches her attention. She peeks down and sees the newest member of the household leaning against the railing, seemingly lost in thought.  
  
"What's her problem?" he asks out loud to no one in particular. "All I was doing was checking out that hole in the ceiling." He jumps up in surprise as a hand rests on his shoulder. He turns around at sees the fox eyed girl smirking at him. "Wha...Mitsune? What are you doing?"  
  
Mitsune Konno chuckles a bit while leaning down. "Boy, you're really jumpy! And by the way, just call me Kitsune, everybody else does." She helps him to his feet and both stare out into the beautiful city and the sea beyond it. She slowly inches her way closer to Keitaro. "You seem a little down. What's up?"  
  
Keitaro sighs again. "That girl in the room above me...Narusegawa, tried to take my head off just a little bit ago."  
  
Kistune leans in closer, a sly smile on her face. "So she caught you peeking and got pissed? I don't blame her. You letch!" She covers her mouth with a hand and giggles.  
  
The Tokyo U student covers his face with his hands, moaning loudly. "Is that what all you girls think I do? Peek and grope every woman I see?"  
  
"Yeah, don't you?" Keitaro face faults onto the ground with a dull 'thud' while Kitsune giggles merrily at his expense. "Just joking!" she laughs. The young man stands back up and rubs the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. For a second, the fox eyed girl's breath is caught in her throat and her eyes open slightly at his behavior. 'Wow, just then he reminded me of Seta! Must be the glasses.' Kitsune pats Keitaro on the back. "Cheer up! I know you're not that bad of a guy. So tell me, what happened with Naru?"  
  
"Well," he begins, "I noticed that hole in the ceiling and went to check it out. I didn't realize it went all the way up to her room. She had a lid over it so I knocked a couple of times and nobody answered and I pushed it open a bit since I was curious. Narusegawa chose that exact moment to walk in, and then she completely freaked out on me and tried to kick my head off! I just barely dodged it!" He sighs again and closes his eyes. "Why is she being such an ice queen to me?"  
  
Above them, Naru growls at the pervert's words. '_Ice queen_?!' she thinks while squeezing her doll tightly. 'How dare he!' the grip on Liddo-kun tightens so much that if the doll were alive, it would have been crushed to death.  
  
Back down a floor, Kitsune waves her hand dismissively. "Ah don't worry about Naru. She's still a little pissed that you saw her totally nude. Naru's a really good girl once you get to know her."  
  
"I guess so," Keitaro shrugs. "I mean we haven't really gotten off on the right foot."  
  
"Now there's the spirit!" the fox eyed girl exclaims. She suddenly opens her eyes, letting out a slight blush and a shy smile. Kitsune moves a bit closer, deliberately brushing her arm against Keitaro's. "Say Keitaro...do you have a preference...when it comes to girls?"  
  
The young Urashima backs off a bit, looking uncomfortable. "N-No. Not really."  
  
"That's good." She takes her hands in his. "Do you have a girlfriend?"  
  
Keitaro frees his hands and turns around to gaze back out at the view, his smile not quite meeting his eyes. "No, I don't." His smile quickly fades. "To tell you the truth, I've never had a girlfriend, and not too many friends either. For eight years, I didn't do much else but study to get into Tokyo U, so I never had any real time to go out and enjoy myself."  
  
Kitsune, and Naru on the floor above, both place a hand over their heart's looking shocked. The long haired girl upstairs sits down and leans against the railing, hugging her doll tightly. 'How could somebody just waste eight years of their life like that? I could never have that kind of determination.' She holds up Liddo-kun and looks at its happy face. "He must have been so lonely studying all by himself for all that time."  
  
Back down one floor, Kitsune is still shocked at Keitaro's words. "Why'd you do that? How could you just study all the time? You're still young! You should be out and enjoying life."  
  
"I never had much of a life to begin with," he calmly responds, like it is nothing. "And when I'm in school, all I do is study even more so I can graduate with a degree." He stops for a moment in thought. A genuine smile plays its way across his face. "Before I got here today, I was with my archaeology instructor...well he's more like my mentor...and we were off on a professional excavation. I haven't had that much fun since...well I can't even remember when."  
  
Kitsune moves a bit closer, gently placing a hand on his in a pure honest manner, no flirting or deception involved. "But why? Why'd you do it?"  
  
"I made a promise to someone ten years ago." He looks the fox-eyed girl straight in the eyes, and she blushes lightly under his penetrating, yet calmly inviting dark brown eyes. "And I always keep my promises."  
  
Just then, Keitaro's door slides open and the samurai girl, Motoko Aoyama, takes a step in with the hyperactive foreigner, Kaolla Su, hanging on her shoulders. "I am sorry to interrupt," she pointedly looks at Kitsune's hand on top of Keitaro's and her eyes narrow while raising her sword up slightly. The Urashima male blushes slightly and backs off. "Better," Motoko replies. "As I was saying, dinner will be ready soon, so I suggest you two come downstairs soon." She turns around and leaves, Su cheerfully waving goodbye to them.  
  
Keitaro turns to the girl in his room and rubs the back of his head, seemingly snapped out of his reprieve. "Well I am getting hungry." His stomach rumbles in response. After they both chuckle for a few seconds, Keitaro levels Kitsune with an apologetic glance. "Listen...you're a really great girl...but I'm not quite ready for a relationship right now. I...I'm sorry." He steps back and bows to her.  
  
The saké expert waves her hand around, dismissing his apology. "Hey, it's alright. I understand, and I'm a patient girl...so just let me know when you're ready, okay?" She gives him a slight wink then turns around and leaves his room, her mind moving a mile a minute. 'What the hell just happened?' she thinks to herself. 'I wanted to go in his room and seduce him into getting with me so I could get set for life...and I wind up starting to really like the guy. He's really one of a kind. I think I'd like to really make a genuine boyfriend out of him.'  
  
Keitaro stares outside, watching as the sun slowly begins to set on the horizon, basking the entire area in a warm, reddish glow. "Funny," her remarks, looking down at himself, "I didn't feel all that uncomfortable around her when she got close to me. Come to think of it, I feel...strangely happy around all of these girls." He rubs one of the walls of the girls dorm with a smile. "Granny always used to tell me that there was a special kind of magic that ran through these halls. I guess she was right. I'm starting to get over my fears...I'm finally getting over Kanako." He sighs deeply and leaves his room.  
  
On the floor above him, Naru silently places her beloved doll back on its spot on the lid covering up the hole in the floor. She too slides her door open and makes her way downstairs for dinner, though one question remains on her mind, 'Who is Kanako?'  
  
______  
  
At dinner, Keitaro sits at the table, gushing out compliments to the resident cook, the young purple haired girl, Shinobu Maehara, who blushes deeply and meekly says her thanks. He also takes glances here and there over at Su, who is eating very large quantities of the meal at an incredibly fast pace. 'I wonder where all of it goes,' Keitaro thinks with a smile. Motoko eats in relative silence, not being one for much casual chatting. Naru also stays silent, occasionally steeling looks at the male resident. Kitsune, who is sitting in between both Naru and Keitaro, takes only a few sips from her saké bottle, her mind in too much action to want to be dulled by the alcohol's soothing effects.  
  
After they are finished, most of the group separates to do their own things, while Keitaro and Shinobu take care of the dishes. At one point, they both reach for the same dish and their hands touch. The oldest member of the house moves his hand aside, letting the youngest member take it, acting as if nothing has happened. Shinobu, on the other hand, blushes furiously upon contact. Naru, who has been spying in on them, smiles warmly at the young girl's cute innocence. Soon, the dishes are nearly done and Shinobu turns towards Keitaro. "Urashima, um...er...I was wondering if you could check my homework for me...when we're done?"  
  
"Sure," he kindly responds. "I'd love to help you. Go on and grab your work and meet me out in the courtyard, I'll finish up here."  
  
"Okay!" she places the dish she was holding back into the sink and rushes out of the kitchen, on her way to her room.  
  
A short while later, both are sitting down at the entrance to the courtyard, Keitaro holding the young girl's homework with a pencil and occasionally leaning over to show her how to do one of the formulas she doesn't understand. He finishes up with the last one and hands the book over to her. "There, that's how you do it."  
  
"Thank you so much!" she beams, taking her homework back. He looks back up at him, stars in her eyes. "Can...can I call you sempai?"  
  
Keitaro rubs the back of his head again. "Sempai? Well...I guess I don't mind. Are you sure you want to call me that?"  
  
Shinobu nods vigorously. "Yes sempai, I'm sure." She looks down at the ground, suddenly looking a little down. "I wish I were as smart as you sempai. I'm terrible at studying and my grades have been pretty bad. I could never get into Tokyo U like you did." She pulls her legs up close and hugs her knees to her chest. She looks back up as Keitaro wraps an arm around her, a warm smile on his face.  
  
"Hey, don't say that," he calmly replies. "Never give up before you even start anything. Look at me, I'm not really all that smart and I used to have a horrible time studying, but I just dedicated myself and did the best that I could...and I passed! All you have to do is apply yourself and never give up and I'm sure you can get into Tokyo University just like me!" He reaches up and rubs the top of her head.  
  
The young girl giggles as she stands up, a glorious smile on her face. "I feel a lot better now! Thank you sempai, thank you so much!" She then happily skips back into the house.  
  
Keitaro stands up and stretches slightly. "Well that was my good deed for the day," he chuckles as he begins to walk around the courtyard, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. As he gazes up at the slowly darkening sky, his senses alert him to the slowly approaching figure to his right. His training with Seta has honed his skills as a fighter and he has learned to read the 'ki' of people around him. By the strength of the person's 'ki' that is nearing him, he can tell that it is the resident swordsman...er..._woman_. "Hello Motoko," he greets, his eyes never leaving the sky.  
  
The samurai girl is momentarily stunned. 'Hmm...he is more skilled than I had previously thought.' Motoko silently walks next to Keitaro, her gaze following his to the brilliant colors of the sky. "I observed over you and young Shinobu," she begins. "That was very kind what you said to her. I have noticed her cheerfulness has been slowly deteriorating along with the decline of her grades. Your small speech was inspiring, I believe it is exactly what she needed, so on behalf of every other member of the Hinata House, thank you."  
  
The Tokyo U student blushes slightly, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed manner. "Please, there's no need to thank me, I was just doing what I thought was right."  
  
Motoko nods her head. "Be that as it may, you have managed to cheer up Shinobu when myself and the others were unable to do so. I am beginning to believe that your presence here is some sort of good omen."  
  
"Good omen?" Keitaro chuckles. "Just a few hours ago you were saying that there was no room for a male in the Hinata House." He raises an eyebrow and smirk at the younger, yet taller girl.  
  
The samurai girl nods again. "Yes, but in this short time, I have learned that there is more to you than meets the eyes, but still keep in mind," she adds while pointing the hilt of her sword towards him, "I will be keeping my eye on you. I will not tolerate any perverted behavior. Tokyo University student or not, you are still a male in my eyes and I know of the foul and treacherous ways of men."  
  
"I'm not too sure where you got that whole 'foul and treacherous ways of men' idea, but I am flattered that someone as beautiful as you will be keeping an eye on me. I've never had such good luck like this before!" He starts to walk away, leaving a flustered Motoko behind.  
  
Motoko is not used to compliments about her looks, especially by men, so his comment takes her completely by surprise. Quickly dismissing the blush on her face, the young woman rushes in front of Keitaro, now scowling slightly. "Though that comment was uncalled for, I will allow it to slide. I noticed your moves earlier when you dodged a 'Naru Punch' from Narusegawa. I assume you have had training in some form of martial arts?" Keitaro nods on reply. "Good, then may I ask, if it is not too much trouble, if you could train with me tomorrow morning? I am interested in seeing your skills as a fighter and it is always beneficial to train with someone else instead of just by myself."  
  
"Sure," the Urashima male answers. "I'd really like to train with you. To tell you the truth, I was hoping you'd ask me that, I wanted to see how good you are too." He raises his left hand and checks his wristwatch. "Hey...it's starting to get late. I think I'll take a quick dip in the hot springs then call it a night." He starts to walk off when a hand on his shoulder stops him in his tracks.  
  
"You cannot enter the hot springs at the moment Urashima. The rest of the girls should be currently bathing at this time, and I am about to join them. Wait until we are finished and then you may use the hot springs." Motoko walks past Keitaro and makes her way back inside to the springs.  
  
Keitaro watches the young woman's retreating form with a small smile. He looks back up at the now dark sky and stretches widely. "I think I'm going to really like living here," he says out loud to nobody in particular.  
  
Unbeknownst to him, a certain fox eyed young woman, who finished her bath early, was listening in. She takes a sip of her saké, slight smile on her face. She opens her eyes a bit and responds back, "I'm gonna like _you_ living here too."   
  
  
**To be continued...**  
  
______  
  
**Author's notes**: Well another chapter in the wraps. For pairings, I'm going to lean more towards Keitaro being with either Kitsune or Motoko...or possibly Mutsumi when I bring her into the story. I'm not a big Naru fan, I mean she's pretty and occasionally nice and all, but just too damn violent for my taste, and Keitaro's in this fic.  
  
As for my semi-lemony work in progress, The gang comes back home after Volume 14, but Granny Hina isn't there, deciding to stay on her whole world tour thing, giving her grandson a whole year to sort everything out with his 'fiancée' . Unfortunately, Naru has become increasingly distant, always saying that they should do 'it' but backing out at the last moment and kicking Keitaro out of her room, usually rather violently. With his sexual tensions increasing dramatically, the young landlord begins to notice the womanly charms of the other tenants. What will he do? -- _lighthawkdemon_  
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	4. Opening Affections

**Love Hina   
  
**

  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.  
  
Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga, since I haven't watched any of the anime, though I will once I get the chance to buy them. Hey, I'll buy them when I have the money to, okay? Good, cause I said I would buy them and I will. I promise._   
  


  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 4:  
Opening Affections   
  
**

  
As the bright rays of the early morning sun illuminate the room of the only male tenant, Keitaro Urashima is seen already awake and changing into some comfortable clothes for his training session with Motoko. He puts on a pair of khaki shorts and a black and blue pullover hoodie. Last night after he came into his room fresh from his dip in the hot springs, he noticed a note on his dresser in very fine handwriting. After reading it, he found out it was from the resident swordswoman, telling him both the time and place of their training session. After grabbing a wooden sword out of his duffel bag, which he used while training with Seta, he slides his door open and makes his way upstairs and outside.  
  
He reaches the chosen spot, a somewhat small area that is usually used for drying clothes outside since a clothesline is situated there. Motoko uses this area for her daily training since it is quaint and isn't used too often so she can usually train in peace. Since the young woman is not present yet, Keitaro begins to do a few warm-ups, stretching his body to prepare himself. After a few minutes, he hears the soft padding of footsteps coming upstairs. He pauses and turns to see Motoko on the top of the steps, clutching a wooden training sword in her right hand. She nods slightly at him. "Good morning Urashima."  
  
"Good morning Motoko," he greets, walking up to her. "Do you need to warm- up too or do you just want to start this?"  
  
"I would like to do some warm-up exercises first." Keitaro backs up and leans against the railing, intent to watch Motoko's moves to judge what kind of a fighter she is. After watching her movements, both with and without her sword, he calculates that her speed and agility make up for her slight lack in natural strength, whereas Keitaro is the direct opposite. Her one main weakness is her reliability on her sword. Without it, she is practically defenseless and her movements are slightly awkward, as if she has trouble adjusting to not using her sword. Motoko stops moving and faces the Tokyo U student. "Okay, I am ready now."  
  
Both combatants take their respective stances, each holding a wooden training sword. A crisp breeze suddenly passes by, going unnoticed by Keitaro and Motoko, who are completely focused on the other and whoever makes the first move. The younger of the two notices that her training partner has stopped moving completely, his body not even moving with each breath he takes. Knowing that he will wait for her, being the gentleman that he is, Motoko charges.  
  
Keitaro's eyes widen as he watches the girl charge, moving much faster than he thought she would. He barely brings his sword up in time to block the overhead slash that was directed for his head. The young man is surprised once again when he is pushed down a bit by the force of the blow. 'Whoa!' he thinks to himself, 'What's going on?! I misjudged her! All of her skills have doubled! She suppresses her 'ki' amazingly well! Where did she learn her skills?'  
  
Motoko allows a small smile spread across her face. 'Good, I have surprised him. He will quickly learn not to underestimate me!' She follows with a midsection swipe, which Keitaro dodges by jumping back, though the tip of the training sword catches his shirt, scratching it slightly.  
  
The Tokyo U student smirks a bit. He goes in for a sideways slash for her left shoulder, but as she brings up her sword to block it, he quickly stops and swings over to her right side, which she left open by blocking. He goes behind her and reaches under her arms and places his hands on her shoulders, restricting her arm movement slightly so she can't attack him directly.  
  
"Wh...what are you doing?" she questions at his odd fighting technique.  
  
Keitaro leans in closer to her head. "You have to be prepared for all attacks, whether they are offensive or defensive," he plainly states. "My mentor taught me that."  
  
Motoko's body stiffens as she feels his breath on her ear, a deep shiver running down her spine. "P-P-Please do not speak near my _ear_!" she hurriedly says, her voice coming out in a strange squeak.  
  
The young man is about to ask why, but then he notices that her body shivers ever so slightly with each breath he is taking near her ear. Raising an eyebrow mischievously, he leans in even closer and breathes, "Why Motoko? Is something wrong?" The reaction is instantaneous. The samurai girl shivers again, only much deeper this time, while her breathing quickens and she slowly closes her eyes. Keitaro's eyes widen. 'No way!' he thinks in surprise. 'I think that's her hot spot! I...I can't believe I found a girl's hot spot...and _Motoko_ of all people! Seta once told me that finding a girl's hot spot is like finding the Holy Grail! This is..._incredible_!'  
  
The younger woman manages to slip from his grasp and holds her training sword in front of her, albeit rather shakily. "Y...you'll pay for that...Urashima!" she stammers out.  
  
Keitaro goes back into his battle stance, although he now has a goofy grin on his face. "You look a little hot under the collar, are you okay?" he jokes. His smile fades as he senses the 'ki' from the girl in front of him contort with rage. 'Uh oh, I think I overstepped my boundaries.' He holds his hands up and begins to back off. "Now Motoko..."  
  
"_Silence_!" she shouts, advancing menacingly. "I cannot believe that you did that to me and made me feel..." she trails off as a heavy blush adorns her face. Motoko quickly shakes it off. "You will pay!" she then charges, holding her sword overhead for a furious strike.  
  
The young man begins to back off, but his natural clumsiness kicks in and he trips over nothing, falling to his back just as Motoko swings at him. She too looses her balance, mainly from putting all her strength into a swing that missed, and she falls on top of Urashima, their foreheads colliding painfully.  
  
After the colorful spots clear from their eyes, both Keitaro and Motoko notice that their faces are mere inches from each other, and they blush deeply. "I...I'm sorry Motoko," the Tokyo U student apologizes. "Are you okay?" He makes sure to avoid her ears this time around.  
  
"Yes I am." She begins to push herself up, but pauses as she realizes that both her hands are on his chest and she can feel his lean muscles through his pullover. 'He is quite fit,' she absentmindedly thinks to herself. 'Whatever training he has gone through has made him quite masculine. It does help that he is rather cute and..._OH MY GOD_! What am I thinking?!' Her eyes widen as she scrambles to push herself up. Unfortunately, she is still holding her training sword and she accidentally pokes it down hard on his...***ahem***...area. Keitaro yelps and jumps up quickly. Motoko turns her head towards him just as his face reaches hers, their lips suddenly crushing against one another.  
  
For a few seconds, both Keitaro and Motoko are too stunned to do anything, both wide eyed and red faced. Then as they both get to their senses, they quickly separate, holding a hand to their lips, with this being the first kiss for both of them. The young Urashima hops to his feet and bows to the girl in front of him several times. "I am so sorry Motoko! I didn't mean to kiss you! You stuck your training sword in my...um...well you poked me hard down there and I jumped up! It was an accident!" He falls to his knees and bows down heavily, where his head is touching the ground. "Please forgive me." The sound of soft footsteps rushing away gets him to look up, just in time to see Motoko's retreating form going down the stairs. He sits back up and rubs the back of his head, muttering, "Did I miss something?"  
  
______  
  
Breakfast is it's usual adventure, with Su consuming much more food in one meal than her tiny body should be able to take in a single day, Shinobu constantly blushing at the compliments thrown her way, Kitsune holding a small bottle of saké and taking a few sips here and there, talking to Keitaro, who changed into a regular shirt and jeans after his training, and Naru. Motoko is the only one who is acting somewhat differently. The samurai girl is normally very quiet and reserved while around a group of people, but she is even more quiet and demure than usual. She keeps her eyes downcast and isn't speaking to anybody. She finishes her meal and places her chopsticks down over her bowl, standing up and getting ready to leave the table.  
  
"Motoko," Naru begins, "is something wrong? You're acting a little funny?"  
  
The young woman stops dead in her tracks, feeling the eyes of everyone at the table on her. She slowly looks up and her gaze falls onto Keitaro. Her cheeks burn red and she turns around and sprints upstairs to her room. All the residents who are still seated around the table sweat drop at Motoko's actions. Kitsune, ever the clever one, slides over next to Keitaro and wraps an arm around him. "Well, well, well. Motoko got awfully red when she looked at you! Did something happen between you two at your little '_training_' session? What exactly were you two doing this morning?" She laughs merrily at the heavy blush that is now adorning the young man's face, completely embarrassed at her implications.  
  
"We just trained," he plainly answers.  
  
"Uh huh, I'm sure" Kitsune replies disbelievingly. "Poor little Motoko," she begins, shaking her head sadly. "She asks you to do a favor for her and train with her and you go and take advantage of her. How could you?" The fox eyed girl smiles happily as Keitaro rolls his eyes and sighs deeply.  
  
Shinobu watches their interaction with a mild blush, knowing that her sempai wouldn't do such a thing, but wishing that she could get very close to him like Kitsune is claiming he was with Motoko. Next to her, Su finishes her plate and pats her stomach with a small burp. She then jumps up and holds her hands out while running upstairs, making airplane noises. Naru shakes her head and leaves the table, off to do her own thing.  
  
Kitsune chuckles again and stands up. "Hey, I just got some really good saké from Matsue not too long ago. Wanna open the bottle with me upstairs?  
  
Keitaro nods with a small smile. "Sure, I'd like to, but after I help Shinobu with the dishes, okay?"  
  
"No prob. I'll be waiting for you." She gives him a slight wink and then heads upstairs herself.  
  
So now only Shinobu and Keitaro remain downstairs, so they both get up and begin cleaning off the table and then doing the dishes.  
  
Ten minutes later, the Tokyo U student is in front of Kitsune's door and knocks on it slightly. "Come in," is the reply he gets.  
  
Sliding the door open, the sight that greets his eyes is the slightly younger woman sitting down next to a small table, waving the bottle of saké back and forth temptingly. With a small chuckle, Keitaro makes his way next to the beautiful fox eyed girl. She already has a cup set up for him. With a sly smile, she opens the bottle and pours a bit into the cup. The young man is about to take a sip when he notices that Kitsune doesn't have a cup. "Hey, where's your cup?"  
  
The younger woman takes a large swig directly from the bottle, a sigh escaping her as she pulls back. "What cup?" she asks with a giggle.  
  
Keitaro shakes his head as he takes another sip. "You really are something else, you know that Kitsune?"  
  
She slides next to the older male and wraps an arm around his shoulder. "So you finally noticed huh?" She places the bottle down onto her table and uses her free hand to rub up and down his chest. Kitsune is pleasantly surprised at the amount of muscle she feels through his shirt. He quickly becomes tense at her nearness and the way she is touching him, tightening his muscles and widening the smile on the young woman's face. "What's wrong? You shouldn't be this tense around girls. You'll never get a girlfriend like this. Here," she grabs the bottle again, "drink some more and loosen up."  
  
"You're right," Keitaro agrees. "It's just...well I'm still not all that used to getting close to girls. You remember what I told you yesterday?" He waits for her to nod before continuing. "Well you're the first girl to actually come up to me and start a normal conversation. I know how to be polite and all, it's just a matter of knowing the right things to say and my level of comfort, which isn't too high." He finishes off his cup and then grabs the bottle and takes a large chug, impressing the girl next to him. "This is pretty good," he offhandedly comments.  
  
"I've got plenty more," Kitsune replies, moving a rug aside and pulling up a panel in the floor, revealing a rather large cooler. She opens it to show off her good sized stash of numerous different alcohols. "I like to be well prepared for any situation."  
  
The Tokyo U student snorts in amusement. "I can see that." He takes another drink from the bottle, only not as much as last time.  
  
The fox eyes girl gazes at him thoughtfully. "You know, I would've never thought of you as a drinker." She smiles a bit at him. She's been touching and rubbing up against him shortly after he came into her room. At first he was quite tense, but now he's all relaxed and enjoying himself allowing her to continue without complaint. 'I'm just what the doctor ordered,' she thinks with a mental laugh.  
  
"Well I sorta got into it a couple a years back," he answers with a shrug. "I was getting really tense around the time I had to take my entrance exams. I wasn't sleeping, I was barely eating and I studied so hard that I was getting constant headaches." He sighs as he takes another sip. "My parents were worried that I was gonna have a breakdown or something if I didn't relax. That's when my Dad gave me some saké. My Mom hated the idea of me drinking, but it was exactly what I needed. It helped calm me down enough where I was back to normal so she didn't complain about it...too much." Both chuckle a bit. "I've gotten into the habit of drinking a bit once in a while afterwards."  
  
Kitsune pats him on the back lightly. "Well if you ever wanna drink again, just remember that I'm right next door so stop on in anytime." She pauses for a moment in thought. "Oh, but not Monday and Friday nights after one, that's my 'private time', okay?"  
  
"Private time? What do you m..." he stops as what she meant comes to him. His entire face reddens several shades as he lowers his head in pure embarrassment.  
  
The younger woman giggles merrily at him. "Joking! I'm just kidding you!" She waits for him to relax before adding, "You can stop in if you'd like to. I could always use and extra hand or two."  
  
Keitaro dive-bombs over towards the tissue on her shelf, plugging his nose up from the onslaught of blood that comes pouring out. He looks back at Kitsune, but frowns as she rolls back and forth on the floor, holding her sides and laughing hysterically. "Ha ha, very funny." He pauses and closes his eyes as the now funnier sounds of his voice from having his nose plugged bring the fox eyed girl into a new bout of hysterics.  
  
Kitsune gets to her feet after a few minutes, tears in the corners of her eyes. She pats him on his shoulders, giving him a genuine smile. "You're a real sweet guy, but just a little too innocent. You need to get yourself laid, trust me, it'll do you loads of good." She surprises even herself when she leans in close and gives him a chaste kiss on the lips. "My schedule's always clear if you're ever interested, now get going." Kitsune turns him towards her door and gives him a pat on the rear to get him moving. After he leaves, she slides her door closed and flops down on her futon, which she never rolled up after waking up this morning, her slight hangover was more important to deal with at the time. "Don't know what it is about that guy," she begins, grabbing her bottle of saké and hugging it tightly, "but I just can't get him out of my head."  
  
______  
  
A somewhat dazed and nicely buzzed Keitaro is about to walk into his room, when a sudden thought comes to him. Changing course he makes his way to the stairs, stumbling a bit here and there on the way. After a couple of minutes, he reaches his intended destination. Knocking lightly, he calls out, "Motoko? Are you there?"  
  
"Yes," she quietly replies on the other side. "You may enter." The Tokyo U student slides her door open and walks in. Motoko's back is facing him, and she does not turn to acknowledge him. Just as he slides her door shut and begins to walk towards her, she halts him. "Please, do not come any closer."  
  
"O...Okay." Something about her voice makes Keitaro want to walk up to her, but he respects her decision for him to not get near her. "Are you...alright Motoko? I'm really sorry about earlier."  
  
The samurai girl sighs deeply. "I am fine. Do not concern yourself over me right now, but I thank you for your concern."  
  
"Are you sure you're fine?" She nods once in response. "Alright then. I'll leave you alone, but if you want to talk or train again or anything, you know where my room is." She nods again and he turns around and leaves her room, quietly sliding her door shut.  
  
Motoko sighs in relief, for if he would have walked in any further, he would've seen her red eyes, the tear streaks down her face as well as the look of both confusion and realization adorning her beautiful features. "How?" she whispers out loud. "How could this have happened? It has been less than a day. I had no idea something like this could form so quickly." She places her fingers on her lips, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. "It was not even a true kiss, but I can tell...no...I know that I...I am in love."   
  
  
**To be continued...**  
  
______  
  
**Author's notes**: Well that was a pretty good one. Two girls have already fallen for our favorite soon-to-be landlord, and plenty more will follow! Keep patient and I will update this as soon as I can.  
  
The city Kitsune mentions getting her saké in, Matsue, is an actual city in the south-eastern area of Honshu, the largest of four islands that makes up Japan. It is in the Shimane section of the Chugoku region, which is the same region Okayama is in. Well that's my advanced geography lesson for the day!  
  
Oh yeah, I just posted an alternate ending chapter for my 'The Darkness Within' series. It takes place nine years after chapter 12 and focuses mainly Tokimi and what she is doing after everything that has happened. It's short, yet good and angsty, so I recommend keeping some tissues handy if you're going to read it! -- _lighthawkdemon_  
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	5. The New Landlord

**Love Hina   
**  
  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.  
  
Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga, since I haven't watched any of the anime. Given time, I will, but money is tight and I can't afford such luxuries at the moment. I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 5:  
The New Landlord   
**  
  
A few hours and one short nap later, a slightly hungover Keitaro walks in front of Naru's room and knocks on the door. It swings open a few moments later and the long haired girl eyes him cautiously, crossing her arms. "What do you want?" she asks, in a tone a bit harsher than she intended.  
  
The Tokyo U student rubs the back of his head, a strangled smile on his face. "Sorry for bothering you Narusegawa, but I wanted to discus something with you." She nods her head to say she is listening before he continues. "Well I wanted to avoid any problems like the one we had yesterday," he says, pointing to the lid covering the hole that connects her room to his, "and I was planning on fixing up that hole. I just wanted to make sure its okay with you first before I do anything."  
  
"Oh," Naru replies, unfolding her arms while her facial expressions soften slightly. "I...I guess it's alright if you want to."  
  
"Yeah, I think it's for the best." Keitaro begins to chuckle a bit. "I keep on having this strange feeling that the hole is going to become a great source of pain for me in the future if I don't do something about it. Well," he adds, starting to turn around, "I'm going to the utility shed and see if there's enough supplies to fix it up."  
  
The young woman smiles kindly at him while his back is turned. She shakes her head then walks up next to him. At his curious look, she replies, "Well the hole is in my room too so I guess I'll help you...but only just a bit!"  
  
"Okay," Keitaro shrugs, hiding the smile that us tugging at his lips. Ten minutes later, the two have reached the old utility shed. The young man tugs on the door a few times before it finally creaks open, the door handle almost breaking off at the force used. Both Keitaro and Naru cover their noses to block the torrent of dust that comes flying up to greet them. The young man quickly spots an old, but quite large toolbox and opens it to find a hammer, nails and other necessary supplies, all in good condition. Some creaking behind him catches his attention and he turns to see Naru looking at some really old 2 X 4's.  
  
"These look like they'll..." she trails off as she begins to lift up one of the boards and it crumbles in her fingers, "well...maybe not," she finishes with a grimace.  
  
The young Urashima walks up to the wood, inspecting it closely. "Jeeze, all of these boards are like decades old. They're all rotted out and useless." He frowns slightly. "I guess I'll have to go to town, there's got to be a hardware store somewhere and I could get some new boards to fix everything up." He looks over at Naru. "Do you want to go to town with me Narusegawa?"  
  
The young woman blushes ever so slightly, his request almost sounding like he is asking her out on a date. "N-No, I'll stay here. I need to do a little studying."  
  
"Oh that's right," Keitaro comments, smiling at her. "You're going to try for Tokyo University this year, aren't you?" Naru nods shyly as a response. "Well if you ever need any help studying or some tips or anything, my room's right below yours." With a wave, he walks out of the utility shed and makes his way down the stone steps.  
  
Naru slowly steps out of the shed and closes the door, muttering, "He's not really such a bad guy. I guess I did sorta jump to conclusions." She goes inside the Hinata House, and finds Su running around, looking for something. "Hey there Su," she begins, getting the foreign girl's attention. "What are you looking for?"  
  
"Tokiyo-Ewe," she responds, lifting up a cushion on the couch. "He looks like fun and I wanted to play!"  
  
"Well he just went to town to get some wood," the older girl answers. "He wanted to fix up that hole that connects our rooms together."  
  
Motoko suddenly comes downstairs, acting like her normal, stoic self. Ignoring the scene before her, she calmly walks into the kitchen and makes some herbal tea, though her thoughts are in a jumble. 'I...I should speak with him...but I have never felt this way before,' she thinks to herself. 'What should I say? What should I do? I have no such experience in these matters...perhaps I can speak with someone who does. Maybe Kitsune..._NO_!' The samurai girl shakes her head mentally and physically. 'I cannot allow anyone in this house to know of my feelings for Urashima! Word spreads around here like a brush fire; I would never live it down!' Her eyes light up as a sudden thought comes to her. 'Haruka! She is quite intelligible and can keep a secret rather well. She also knows her nephew better than any of us here. She can give me some good advice.' Motoko quickly and stealthily gets out of the house and rushes over to the Café Hinata.  
  
Haruka Urashima looks up as the front door to her café opens and Motoko comes in, looking a little flustered. She begins to make some soothing green tea, the samurai girl's favorite. She then sits next to her and hands the young woman a cup, which she graciously takes. "What's the matter Motoko?" the older woman begins, taking her cigarette out of her mouth. "You look really bothered by something."  
  
Motoko places both her hands on her heart, a light blush gracing her soft porcelain skin. "I am sorry for bothering you like this Haruka, but I do not know who else to talk to for advice."  
  
"Okay then, shoot."  
  
The young woman shuffles in her seat, clearly uncomfortable. "Well...you see...I...uh...I have just recently discovered that I have certain...feelings for someone, and I do not know what to do." She closes her eyes as her chest tightens in thought. "I feel...strange around Ur...this person...but it is not an unpleasant feeling. He...I mean...this person has a very soothing aura and I find myself getting lost in thought whenever h...this person enters my mind."  
  
Haruka, unfortunately for the samurai girl, read between the lines and knows exactly what is being discussed. She leans in close, a strangle glimmer in her eyes. "Does Keitaro know that you are in love with him?" The older woman smiles in satisfaction at Motoko's reaction to her words.  
  
Her entire face burns red as she slowly sinks down under the table. "Am...am I that obvious?" her forehead asks, that and the top of her head being the only thing of her that is visible.  
  
"Unfortunately yes." Haruka takes a sip of her tea, looking around her currently empty café. 'Maybe I should close up for the day,' she thinks to herself. 'It has been pretty dead around here.' She looks back to Motoko, who is sitting back up, having gotten herself under control. "Well the first thing you should do is talk to him, which is also obvious."  
  
"B-But what should I say to him?" She folds her hands around the cup. "I have never felt this way before. This is all new to me. I am...frightened to his response." Motoko looks up at Haruka, a slight twinge of fear in her eyes. "What if he does not feel the same for me? I do not know how I will handle rejection."  
  
The Urashima woman places a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't freak out too much about it. I wouldn't go out and directly tell Keitaro that you love him...he hasn't had a really good track record with women." She taps her chin for a few seconds in thought. "Maybe you should just start getting close to him and getting to know him better, talk to him by yourself, go out on dates and such. Don't rush things or you're going to scare him away, I know, I've seen it happen."  
  
"What do you mean?" Motoko asks sharply. "What has happened?"  
  
"A lot," Haruka sighs. "Women are the root of his problems, but I'm not really the one to tell you the major event that happened to him in the past, it's for Keitaro and Keitaro alone to tell you if he decides to. But you have to agree with me that my nephew's not that bad looking of a guy." The samurai girl nods shyly, another blush quickly forming. "He reminds me a lot of his father," the Urashima woman adds with a small smile. "Any way, a few years back, Keitaro still lived with his parents and the neighbor's daughter had a little thing for him...actually, it was a lot more than just a little thing. That girl downright wanted him bad." She chuckles a bit before continuing. "Poor Keitaro, he never saw her coming."  
  
Motoko leans in closer, intent on hearing this story out. "So what happened next?"  
  
"Well she invited him over when her parents were out, claiming she needed help with some homework. When he came over, she literally pounced on him and pinned him to the ground." A loud _thunking_ sound gets Haruka to stop. She looks over and apparently Motoko was resting her head in her hands and she let go in surprise, causing her head to slam onto the table. Shaking her head at the foolish girl, Haruka continues. "Well Keitaro's never been in a situation like that before with a girl, so he naturally freaked out and managed to get out from under her and high tail it out of there. It really hurt her feelings, but I had a little talk with her later and explained things and she's better, though I still think she has a thing for him. Poor guy," she finishes, taking a long drag of her cigarette.  
  
The samurai girl looks aside, now looking very hesitant. "Do I even have a chance? I mean look at me," she gestures down to her great body, model like poise, angelic face and soft, silky raven black hair, "I am no beauty."  
  
'If you only knew...' Haruka thinks with a smirk. She places her hands on her friend's shoulder again. "Keitaro's a good, honest man. I know that he likes you, but is hesitant to try anything. Like I already said, he's had bad luck with women, so go nice and easy with him, I'm sure you'll do well." They both look up as a phone in the back rings, quickly followed by the sounds of something printing. "Looks like I got another fax." The older woman stands up. "Let me check it out and when I get back, I'll give you some more advice, like stuff to wear and say around him."  
  
Motoko stands up and bows deeply. "I thank you for helping me like this."  
  
Haruka waves it off. "Ah, don't worry about it. I just want you guys to be happy."  
  
______  
  
Keitaro walks out of the local hardware store, carrying a handful of 2 X 4's under his right arm. He passes by a pharmacy when Kitsune comes out with a small bag in her hands. She notices him and calls out, "Hey there Keitaro! Whatcha doin'?"  
  
The young man turns around and smiles at the fox eyed girl. "Hi Kitsune. I was just picking up some supplies. I'm going to fix up that little hole that's in me and Narusegawa's room."  
  
The slightly younger woman slows her pace so she and Keitaro are now walking side by side. She looks over at him with a sly smile. "I'm guessing you don't want any repeats of what happened yesterday?"  
  
Keitaro shudders in memory. "No way! I like my head where it is right now thank you very much." He gestures over to the paper bag she's carrying. "What did you buy?"  
  
"Uh...aspirin!" she hurriedly replies, clasping the bag tightly. In truth, Kitsune bought some...protection just in case the Tokyo U student decides to join in on her weekly Monday and Friday night '_private time_.' 'It's always smart to keep some just in case,' she thinks with her trademark foxy grin.  
  
"Aspirin's a pretty good thing to have," Keitaro comments, "considering all that alcohol you've got in your room. It'd be pretty useful with all those pesky hangovers." He frown slightly, his head still throbbing a bit from his small hangover from earlier.  
  
Kistune snickers slightly. "I can see you've got a bit of a headache too."  
  
"It's not that bad, just a dull throbbing," the slightly older man replies, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. The two have idle chitchat while walking back towards their home.  
  
______  
  
In the Hinata House hot springs, Naru, Su and Shinobu are taking a midday soak, relaxing in the warm soothing waters. The older girl stretches widely, not noticing the jealous looks she is getting from young Shinobu, who desires to have a body that's as nice as Narusegawa's. 'Maybe if I looked like her,' she thinks to herself, 'then sempai would like me more and want to go out with me.' A heavy blush appears on her face upon thinking about Keitaro, whom she now has a major crush on.  
  
A few feet from her, Su dives underwater, wearing goggles and a snorkel. She pops up in front of the youngster, startling her. "Hehe, why're you so jumpy Shinobu?" the foreign girl teases, getting an angry '_hmph_' in response. The blonde haired teenager shrugs and leaps over to Naru, splashing her with water. "Heyas Naru!" she greets. "Do you know when Keitaros is getting back home? I made a new gadget and wanted to play with him with it!" She suddenly gets a 'puppy dog eyes' look, pleading the older woman for an answer.  
  
With a sigh, Narusegawa answers, "I have no idea Su. Keitaro wanted to fix that hole in his and my room, but the wood in the old utility shed was all rotted out so he's in town right now buying some new boards. It might be a little while before he gets back." She sinks back down a bit into the water, trying to relax again.  
  
"Wow, that was really nice of sempai," Shinobu comments, a faint blush tracing her cheeks. "But isn't it the landlord's job to make all the repairs and stuff?"  
  
"It is," Naru answers, trying to ignore Su's rambunctious behavior next to her, "but since Granny Hina isn't here...well I guess there's not much that can be done. She only sends Haruka enough money to pay any extra bills and major repairs that our rent pay doesn't cover. Minor little problems are just ignored, unless they could become much worse."  
  
Shinobu moves next to Naru, a slightly sad look on her face. "I wish Grandmother Hinata were still here. She'd make this place all nice and working well again."  
  
"So do I Shinobu," the older girl starts, standing up and getting ready to leave, "but since she's not here, we don't have a landlord. We'll just have to live with what we got."  
  
______  
  
Keitaro and Kitsune are just about to walk past the Café Hinata when Motoko and Haruka walk out. Both turn their heads to the two walking up to them, Haruka looking indifferent while the samurai girl has a strangled expression, like she is torn between utter shock and total joy, both strange expressions for her to have. "Hey you two," the older Urashima greets. "What are you guys up to?"  
  
"I was just buying some 2 X 4's to fix up that hole in between me and Narusegawa's room," Keitaro answers.  
  
"And I was getting some aspirin," Kitsune adds, winking at the older woman.  
  
Haruka notices and sighs slightly, remembering the fox eyed girl's old metaphor for buying condoms. 'Oh boy,' she thinks. 'Keitaro's got enough to worry about as it is. Women oogling over him is not going to help.' She calmly walks over to her ill-fated nephew and hands him a few sheets of paper. "Got another fax from Granny."  
  
Keitaro places the boards onto the ground so he can read the papers easier. "Real estate...deed of ownership?" he asks, a sweatdrop forming on his head.  
  
"It's all legal," the older woman states, taking another drag from her cigarette. "Grandma said she's giving everything to you."  
  
The younger Urashima stares blankly at the page before him, which is the letter his grandmother sent along with the deed. Just as his aunt said, Granny is giving him the Hinata House and all the land it stands on. "I...I can't believe it."  
  
"Believe it. Hinata House is yours...given you become the landlord."  
  
Kitsune, who is reading the paper over Keitaro's shoulder, is also in complete shock, her eyes open all the way. 'No way! He owns everything?!' A smile appears on her face. 'I guess this means that he's staying permanently...as long as he becomes the landlord.' She pauses for a moment in surprise as she realizes something. 'Hey...that's kinda strange. I'd usually think about the money first. Man, I'm really starting to feel something for this guy!'  
  
In front of her, Motoko is having similar thoughts. 'I am sure Urashima will take the position. He does seem to enjoy living in the Hinata House and all of us living there. Since his stay will presumably now be permanent, this will give me the chance to go forth with Haruka's plan. I only hope his feelings for me are similar.'  
  
Haruka smirks at her nephew's flabbergasted face. "Yeah, it is quite a shock, but Hinata House does need a new landlord since your grandmother is away. Will you take the job?"  
  
______  
  
Back up at the Hinata House, all the girls, plus Haruka and Keitaro, are sitting in the living room, the younger Urashima calling a group meeting. "I'm sure a few of you are wondering why I called this little group meeting." Naru, Shinobu and Su all nod slightly. "Well Aunt Haruka," he pauses to receive the expected blow to the head, which comes as usual, "got another fax from Grandmother, and it's some really big news." He pulls out the papers. "It looks like Granny has given me the deed for the Hinata House, given I become its new landlord."  
  
Naru clenches her fists in her lap, barely keeping in her building frustration. '_Him_?!' her mind screams. 'He's going to be the new landlord?! I can't believe this! I only thought he was going to stay for a little bit, this means that he'll be here a very long time! I mean, he's an okay guy, but I don't like the thought of him living below me all the time!'  
  
Next to her, Shinobu is also silently thinking to herself. 'Does this mean that sempai's going to stay here? Oh I hope so! And since he's the new landlord, he can fix this place up a bit like I was saying earlier. Oh sempai,' she begins, stars appearing in her young eyes, 'please stay. I want you so much...to stay with us!' she adds in, blushing deeply.  
  
Su hops over to Keitaro and latches herself around his neck, smiling widely. "Goody! Then you can play with me all the time now Tokiyo-Ewe!" She giggles and then given him a large bear hug, cutting off his circulation for a few seconds.  
  
After he catches his breath, Keitaro stands back up and faces his new tenants. "Well I like it here and you girls have seemed to accept me, so I'll do it! I am now Hinata House's new landlord!"   
  
  
**To be continued...  
**  
______  
  
**Author's notes**: Ah, another chapter done. I am sorry for those of you who are fans of either or both of my Inu-Yasha fanfics, I have hit a bad dry spell with both of them and I'm struggling to get good ideas to continue them. Trust me, I haven't given up on them, I just don't want to post a fic that isn't to the best of my abilities. I have been adding bits and pieces here and there, and each is a few pages long. Please just be patient.  
  
On Love Hina news, well Keitaro is the new landlord and most of the girls are handling it rather well. What will Motoko do to let her feelings for Urashima be known? And what all does Kitsune have in store for Keitaro with all that 'aspirin' she has bought? Find out all this and more soon... - _lighthawkdemon_  
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	6. Motoko's New Wardrobe

**Love Hina   
**  
  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.  
  
Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga, since I haven't watched any of the anime. Given time, I will, but money is tight and I can't afford such luxuries at the moment. I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 6:  
Motoko's New Wardrobe   
**  
  
The young Aoyama woman sits in her room, staring uncertainly at a large bag of clothes in front of her. A little earlier, Haruka dragged her off to some of the clothing stores in town and 'helped' her choose out a full new line of clothing, seeing as how the only things she has the wear are her many pairs of gi and hakamas. Motoko picks up a dark purple spaghetti- string tank top and a pair of khaki shorts, her eyes widening. She quickly drops them and pulls her arms to her chest, looking at the clothing as if it had burned her. "I...I cannot do this!" she stammers, pushing the clothes and the shopping bag away. "Haruka must have gone insane, believing I am capable of wearing such...such _rubbish_!"  
  
She stands up and turns around, but gasps in surprise as she notices Haruka standing in her doorway. The samurai girl blushes deeply and turns away. "You can wear that rubbish and you will," the older woman calmly states. "Believe it or not Motoko, you're a beautiful young woman and you have a very desirable body."  
  
"But how can you expect me to wear this?" she asks, lifting up a skirt. "Things like this look gaunt on someone of my height! I am not meant to wear them!"  
  
The Urashima woman takes her cigarettes out of her mouth, a small smirk on her face. "If you wear normal skirts, they'll show off a good bit of your legs, and I don't think my nephew would mind that too much." Her smirk widens at the lovely shade of red Motoko's face becomes. "If you wear that and a cute shirt to dinner tonight, Keitaro's definitely going to try to talk to you afterwards, trust me."  
  
Motoko tosses the skirt down and walks out to her balcony, gazing out at the nearly set sun. She places a hand on her heart and sighs slightly. "Perhaps I am wrong about my feelings. It has been slightly cooler in the mornings and nights when I train, I might have just caught a cold. That could explain why my reactions are so..." she trails off as Haruka takes out a fan and smacks her on the head with it.  
  
"What is so wrong with my nephew that girls all go into denial when they realize that they really like him?!" the older woman asks incredulously. "Is he that bad?"  
  
"_No_!" the samurai girl answers, so quickly she surprises even herself. "He...he has many admirable and desirable qualities to him."  
  
Haruka shakes her head with a sigh. "Then why don't you give it a shot? If you don't like wearing the clothes or if Keitaro doesn't really change his views of you, then you can return them. I kept all of the receipts and everything, so just say the word."  
  
Motoko lowers her head and nods ever so slightly. "I guess I could give it a try."  
  
The older woman walks up to the bag and rummages through it for a few seconds, finally pulling out a shirt. "This is cute," she comments, "and it goes well with this skirt," the Urashima woman adds, picking up the skirt Motoko tossed onto the floor. "Go ahead and put these on and remember what I told you."  
  
"Yes," the samurai girl sighs. "I must not make a big deal about the clothing I am wearing while around others. I must stay cool and collected."  
  
"Good. Well I'm going to get out of here so good luck Motoko." She leaves the bedroom and slides the door shut. "You're gonna need it," Haruka adds in an undertone, praying that this was a wise idea and it doesn't blow up in her face.  
  
______  
  
A short while later, the entire residence of the Hinata House, minus one certain samurai girl, are sitting around the dining table, all getting ready to eat a delectable looking dinner made by Shinobu, which is like a congratulations to their new landlord Keitaro. The youngest resident walks away from the table, looking up towards the third floor. "I wonder where Motoko is," she thinks out loud.  
  
"Did you tell her that dinner was ready?" Naru asks.  
  
Shinobu nods slightly, turning her head to the older woman. "Yeah, I did."  
  
The shuffling of feet coming downstairs gets everybody's attention. They all look up and five sets of eyes widen at the sight before them. Motoko calmly walks down that stairs, wearing a dark blue skirt and a button up white shirt with a folded down collar. Her hair is pulled up into a ponytail and, despite her calm appearance, her face is a lovely shade of red. Acting as if nothing is out of the ordinary, she walks over to the table and takes a seat, right next to the new landlord.  
  
Keitaro opens and closes his mouth several times, trying to say something but unfortunately not being able to sprout out any words, as goes most everyone else. Shinobu is the first to speak. "Oh wow Motoko, you look so cute!" She clasps her hands together while her eyes shine bright.  
  
Kitsune leans over the table, a sly smirk on her face. "Yeah Motoko, you're looking unusually good. What's with the new get up? You got a hot date or something later?"  
  
"No," she replies, beginning to place some rice and noodles on her plate, "I just felt like wearing something different today. I do not see what the big deal is."  
  
Kitsune is about to say something, but Naru places a hand on her shoulder, asking permission to be the one to respond. The fox eyed girl complies, bowing aside. Narusegawa nods in thanks then turns back to Motoko. "The big deal?!" she shouts, her eyes widening. "The big deal is that, aside from that plain blue bathing suit and school uniform, we haven't seen you in anything else but your red and white training gear! And you don't have your sword with you! This is..._monumental_!"  
  
"Yeah!" Su suddenly adds, leaping onto Motoko and knocking her backwards. "Why'd you change? You're always so boring looking!"  
  
"I am not boring," the samurai girl responds grumpily. "I consider myself very conservative."  
  
Kitsune leans over to Naru, whispering, "That's a boring person's word for boring." Her long time friend stuffs a hand in her mouth the stifle the laughter that's yearning to come out.  
  
"I don't think she's boring either," Keitaro replies. "She wears what she is comfortable with and it expresses her lifestyle as a warrior. I really respect that," he adds, smiling winningly at the younger woman and getting a heavy blush in response.  
  
The fox eyed girl notices Motoko's reaction and frowns lightly. 'Hmm, I think there's more to her change in wardrobe besides 'just trying something different.' Sorry Motoko but I saw him first, and my rule is finder's keepers!'  
  
The rest of diner goes along nicely, with everyone enjoying the extremely nice celebratory meal Shinobu cooked for Keitaro's new position in the Hinata House. Motoko gets a few compliments thrown her way as well, mainly on the nice clothes and how cute she looks in them. The samurai girl, for her part, remains quite calm, despite the thorough blush that doesn't want to leave her face.  
  
Keitaro finishes his food and stands up, patting his stomach happily. "Thank you Shinobu, that was by far the best meal I have ever had."  
  
"Y-You're welcome sempai," the young girl shyly responds, suddenly finding her plate very interesting. "I just wanted to say congratulations to you for becoming the new landlord."  
  
"Well thank you again." He pulls out a pad of paper and a pen and begins to walk away.  
  
Motoko notices his actions and raises an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you doing Urashima?"  
  
The young man stops walking and turns around, a light smile on his face. "Oh, since I'm the landlord now, I've gotta make sure this place stays in tip-top condition. I'm going to take a little walk around here and see what needs repairing." He begins to turn back around, but pauses in mid step. "Oh yeah, I'll have to check your rooms too so don't be surprised if I knock on your door later." He turns back around and slowly walks away, his eyes taking in everything around him.  
  
"That's really nice of him," the young purple haired girl comments, smiling widely at his retreating form.  
  
"Well it is his job now," Naru says, grabbing her plate and standing up. "It's not really nice of him, it's just him doing what he has to do now." She shakes her head and walks away.  
  
Kitsune sighs at her best friend. "That girl's still holding a grudge against poor Keitaro, and now she's super pissed that he's the new landlord."  
  
"I'm not holding a grudge and I'm not pissed!" she shouts from the kitchen. "I just don't like the idea of a guy owning this place and constantly being around. I mean, what about when we're in the hot springs! He could peek in on us, the damn pervert," she adds while cracking her knuckles.  
  
"I think this can be really fun," the fox eyed girl responds, chuckling while sipping her precious saké. "I've hung out with him a bit and he's got such an adorably innocent nature to him. It's gonna be so easy to trick him and get some free rent out of it! What do you think Motoko?" She turns to the samurai girl, but she has already left the table and is walking upstairs, not wanting to be part of this conversation. With a shrug, Kitsune looks over at Su. "How about you Su? What do you think about our new landlord?"  
  
The foreign girl places a finger on her chin and looks up, thinking deeply. A large smile appears on her face. "I like Keitaros, he's really funny! I'm glad he's stayin' so we can play all the time!"  
  
"Yeah," Shinobu adds, "and he's so nice! He helped me with my homework and told me that I could do really well in school if I try real hard! I'm so glad that sempai's staying!"  
  
Kitsune chuckles again while looking at Naru. "Looks like you're outvoted on this one."  
  
Naru huffs and storms away, muttering, "Traitors."  
  
The fox eyed girl shakes her head at her friend. She takes a sip of her saké and looks up. "I wonder exactly what Motoko's opinion on this is."  
  
______  
  
The aforementioned young woman is just about to slide open the door to her room when someone calls out from behind her, "Hello Motoko."  
  
She turns and is slightly surprised to see Keitaro walking up to her. "Greetings Urashima, what are you doing up here?"  
  
"Oh I was just working on my repair checklist." He begins to rub the back of his head. "I figured I'd check out the top floor first then work my way down." He points towards her room with his pencil, a slightly nervous look on his face. "Um...is it...is it okay if I check your room out...for inspection that is!"  
  
Motoko holds her old protective instincts in and nods slightly. "Yes you may Urashima, but I warn you, a woman's belongings are not something for you to be rummaging around in."  
  
Keitaro smiles and rubs the back of his head again. "The thought never crossed my mind Motoko, but I think you should keep your sword with you when you threaten someone," he gently pokes her nose, "without it, you look more cute than anything."  
  
The young samurai girl feels the temperature in her face increase, as well as her heartbeat, both from the compliment and the physical contact. She quickly goes into her room, thankful that it is dark out and she hasn't turned her lights on. Unfortunately, Keitaro walks in as well and hits the light switch, illuminating the room. Motoko leans against the nearest wall, uncertain of what to do and what is going to happen. The young woman internally is gladdened that she cleaned up all of the clothes that were lying on her floor before she came down for dinner. 'I would have died of shame had Urashima seen my room in such a state.'  
  
The Tokyu U student walks around the room, inspecting and also admiring it. "You have a very nice room Motoko," he comments, "I really didn't get a chance to check it out the other day." Her room is plain, yet it also shows so much. It is very tidy and neat. Her sword is resting on a plain sword stand with a scroll of a tree branch and the sun behind it. Her futon is rolled up behind a square section that has a tiny 'L' divider that has such words as 'Honor' and 'Discipline' written on it. A tea set and small chest is at the foot of the section. In the far end of the room in front of a dark changing divider, a very nice full set of samurai armor rests. "Wow, this is pretty cool."  
  
Motoko holds in the light blush that is screaming to come out. "I do not wish to flaunt my belongings like the others do. I like to keep my room clean and simple, without the distractions of flashy and useless items."  
  
Keitaro smiles at her, flipping his notebook shut. "Well there's nothing wrong with your room, not a single thing needed to fix up." He leans against the wall he is standing by, looking the young woman up and down again, taking in her new garb. "You know, I think you look really good in those clothes."  
  
The samurai girl begins to absentmindedly playing with a strand of her long raven black hair. "So I've heard." She looks up as she senses the new landlord's aura coming closer. She feels her face heat up again at his warm smile and gentle eyes.  
  
"You do." He begins to blush before he continues, "You know, we really don't know each other that well and I'm interested in getting to know you...so I was wondering if you were interested in...well...maybe going out for dinner or something sometime...with me?" He looks to the floor, his hands clasped behind him and his feet shuffling around on the floor.  
  
The young woman is momentarily speechless, completely stunned at his question. 'I...I cannot believe this!' her mind screams at her. 'He's asking me out?! Haruka was right! This clothing has inspired Urashima to speak with me! But what should I say? Should I agree? It seems so sudden!' She looks at Keitaro, who has looked back up to face her, his eyes filled with nervous anticipation. "Well...I...um...I suppose that your...request is acceptable Ur...Urashima," she stammers out, looking back and forth, anywhere but his eyes.  
  
Keitaro's current smile could light up a dark room. "_R-Really_?! Oh that's great! Thanks Motoko, you won't regret it!" He quickly hugs her then leaves her room, a small skip in his step.  
  
Motoko is still frozen in the spot where the landlord hugged her. "I...I hope I do not," she mumbles, slowly sliding down against the wall, "for I greatly desire my first date to be a memorable one."  
  
______  
  
Keitaro walks down the second floor hall, happily chewing on some gum that he had in his pocket. As he trots past one of the doors on the second floor, it suddenly slides open, revealing Kitsune wearing nothing more than a large t-shirt. "Well hey there mister landlord!" she cheerily greets, the smell of saké strong on her breath, "you here to check me out?"  
  
The young man briefly takes in her appearance and raises an eyebrow slightly. "Not exactly, though you are giving me quite an eyeful."  
  
The fox eyed girl chuckles a bit, then grabs Keitaro's hand and drags him in her room. "Come on in here ya big perv!" After she pulls him in, she slides her door shut and turns to face him, placing one hand on her hip and the other on her chin, looking him up and down. "So now you're the new landlord," she mutters out loud. "I must say, you're heck of a lot cuter than the last one!"  
  
Keitaro blushes and rubs the back of his head. "Um...er...thanks Kitsune." He starts to look around the room, trying to avoid looking at the younger woman and her state of undress. "So...does your room need anything repaired that you know about?"  
  
Kitsune slowly, seductively walks towards him, making sure to show off as much of her legs as possible with each step. "Hmm, the one light in front of my balcony keeps on flickering, and I put in a new bulb not too long ago."  
  
"Do you mind if I check it out?" She shakes her head with a shrug. "Well do you have a stool or something?"  
  
While he looks back up at the flickering light, the fox eyed girl taps her chin for a few seconds. "Oh yeah! I think I've got one stored away in my closet." She slides her closet door open and purposely leans down as far as she can so her shirt slips up past her hips and her thong-clad rear sticks up in the air, swishing back and forth with her movements. Keitaro turns towards her to see if she has gotten a stool yet, and promptly chokes on his gum at the sight of her nearly nude rear shaking up and about. He grabs his throat and falls to his knees, his head slowly turning blue. Kitsune turns around with the stool in her hands, but drops it in surprise upon seeing the new landlord choking. "Oh my god! Keitaro! Are you okay?!"  
  
He points to his throat and sputters out, "G-Gum... ***cough*** ...stuck... ***gasp*** ..._help_!"  
  
Thinking quickly, the younger woman rushes over to the Tokyo U student and places one hand on his shoulder, while she rears the other behind his back. She slaps him as hard on the back as she can and with a loud gasp, the gum comes flying out of his mouth and onto the floor. Keitaro runs a hand through his hair, shaking quite a bit. "Thanks Kitsune," he gasps between deep breaths, "you saved my life!"  
  
Kitsune grimaces slightly, feeling bad about what she did. "No, you shouldn't thank me," she mutters, "I just wanted to tease you a bit with what I'm wearing...well...not wearing." She suddenly becomes self-conscious and hastily sits down, folding as much of her legs under her as she can. "I didn't want you to choke on your gum like that." She looks up as a hand gently rests on her shoulder.  
  
"Don't blame yourself," he calmly states, his eyes filled with warmth and forgiveness. "It was an accident. Truthfully, I'm kinda flattered that you'd want to tease me...especially like that!" he adds, blushing deeply.  
  
The younger woman giggles slightly at his shy behavior, but is also very touched at his kindhearted words. "You're really a great man, you know that Keitaro Urashima?" She places a hand on his cheek and softly presses her lips onto his.  
  
The landlord is completely stunned by her actions. '_What_?!' his mind screams at him. 'Kitsune's kissing me?! Why?!' His mind suddenly pauses as another thought occurs to him. 'Hey...this feels really good! Maybe I should kiss back too.' He leans in closer as he begins to return the kiss.  
  
Kitsune inwardly smile as she feels him begin to respond. 'Yes! He's kissing back, and he's not too bad for a rookie!' She opens her mouth and licks his lips, asking for entrance. He complies and she begins to explore the inside of his mouth as he inches his tongue into her mouth bit by bit. 'He's so shy and gentlemanly...that's so cute! I can't wait to open him up to a whole new world!'  
  
______  
  
Unbeknownst to either of them, a par of eyes was just watching them. At first she was planning on storming into the room and taking care of the 'pervert', but stopped herself as she noticed her best friend was clearly enjoying kissing him. Naru leans against the wall outside of Kitsune's room, a strangled look on her face. "I...I guess I should be glad that Kitsune is finally with someone, and she looked happy," she pauses as she places a hand over her heart, "but why did it hurt to see her kiss him?"   
  
  
**To be continued...**  
  
______  
  
**Author's notes**: Heyas all youse big time fans! Another chappie in the wrappie! ***cough*** Er...well...putting aside the Su talk for a moment, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I've been progressively making each chapter a bit longer than its predecessor...and of course that's a good thing! Ah poor Keitaro, he asks the lovely Motoko out then makes out with Kitsune just a little bit later. Damn I wish I were in his shoes! And now Naru's starting to feel something for the big lug...it just can't get worse...well until Mutsumi comes into the foray!  
  
In the next chapter, Keitaro will take Motoko out on a date to get 'better acquainted' with one another. How will Kitsune react to this news? Find out this and more next episode! - _lighthawkdemon_  
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	7. An Uneventful Morning

**Love Hina   
**  
  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.  
  
Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga since I haven't seen any of the anime, but I will someday. I do not know when or where, but I will. I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 7:  
An Uneventful Morning   
**  
  
The last week in the Hinata House has passed by rather smoothly and without any major life altering incidents. Keitaro has busied himself on fixing his new property and making it an even better place to live for all of its residents. Every problem, be they minor or major, from the woodwork to the electricity, has been repaired. To the girls' delight, he spent nearly an entire day scrubbing down the hot springs, making them much cleaner and a lot nicer to bathe in. Between cleaning and repairing, he spends time hanging out with the girls, getting to know them better, from drinking with Kitsune and training with Motoko to playing around with Su and cooking and doing laundry with Shinobu. The only person he really hasn't spent a lot of time with is Narusegawa, who has begun to study diligently for her upcoming Tokyo University entrance exams. He's only seen her during mealtimes and when he fixed up the hole on her floor.  
  
Currently the young landlord is down in the basement replacing the old and very rusted hot water heater. Several days ago he got a letter in the mail from his grandmother, which informed him that now as the new landlord of the Hinata House, he has access to all of the savings and funds Granny Hina kept aside for the residence. The vast amount is more than enough to keep the old building in tip top shape until he reaches his grandmother's age, possibly even longer.  
  
Keitaro finishes installing the new hot water heater and stands up, sweat dripping off of his body. "Man its hot down here!' he comments, taking off his yellow construction worker's hardhat and waving it in front of his face. The young Urashima takes off his glasses and then removes his shirt and uses it as a sweat rag to get the stinging sweat out of his eyes. He tosses it aside and adjusts the straps of his denim overalls since they were digging a bit into his shoulders from the extra weight the tool belt around his waist is adding. He looks down at his arm and runs a finger along it, grimacing at the amount of dirt and grime that has accumulated on his skin. "I think its time for a shower."  
  
He puts the yellow hardhat back on and walks up the stairs and opens the door, sighing in relief as the fresh cool air hits his face. Just at that moment, Shinobu walks by with a basket of freshly washed towels and blankets. She takes one look at him, with his sweaty and dirty body and shirtless top, and blushes an amazing shade of red. 'He...he looks so manly!' she thinks, covering her face with her hands and dropping the basket of clothes while doing so.  
  
The Tokyo u student reaches down and is about to pick up the basket, but then remembers that he is quite filthy and the laundry is all nice and clean. He instead rubs the back of his head, a goofy smile on his face. "Uh, sorry I can't help pick that up Shinobu, but I don't want to dirty up all that laundry that you did such a great job cleaning."  
  
The young girl's face, if humanly possible, reddens even more upon his compliment. "T-T-Thank you sempai," she stutters out.  
  
Su suddenly hops down the stairs, running hurriedly away from something. She skids to a halt in front of Keitaro, looking him up and down. "Heyas Keitaro, lookies like you had a lot of fun!" She giggles. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
He's about to answer when Kitsune's voice shouts, "Damnit Su! Where'd you put it? That was a very expensive bottle!" Su giggles in excitement and rushes away, skipping with each step. The fox eyed girl gives chase, sprinting down the steps. She glances at Keitaro when she passes him, and promptly falls over while trying to stop and look at him again. "Well hello Mr. Urashima!" she greets with a sly smile, her eyes soaking in every detail. 'Damn he looks _hot_!' she thinks to herself.  
  
Keitaro tilts his hardhat up with his thumb and smiles. "Hey Kitsune, how're you doing?"  
  
"Lousy," she grumpily answers. "I just got a very expensive bottle of vintage saké from Tokyo and Su nabbed it from me and hid it somewhere! Ooh, when I get my hands on her..." she trails off as she makes a strangling motion with her hands.  
  
The young landlord chuckles heartily and Shinobu covers her mouth with her hand, stifling her giggle. "Well if you want to get your bottle back, I think you're just gonna have to chase Su around for a while until she's happy. She did that to me a few times this week with my notebook."  
  
Kitsune hangs her head down with a large sigh. "Ugh, I'm not meant for all this running around. Its just not my thing." With another sigh, she drags herself outside, intent on getting her precious saké back, by any means necessary.  
  
Keitaro shakes his head with a smile and walks upstairs to get a change of clothes. After doing that, he comes back downstairs and goes over to the changing rooms next to the showers and hot springs. He removes his dirty clothing and tosses it aside. The young man walks into the showers first and turns the nozzle so the water comes out cool. He sighs in content as he feels the dirt and grime wash off of his body.  
  
______  
  
Upstairs two levels, Naru finishes up some practice math problems and leans down onto the floor, her arms spread out. "Oh man, I need a break!" She pulls her cardigan sweater up to her nose and takes a whiff, cringing at the smell. "Phew! I also need a bath!" She goes to her dresser and gets some clean clothes and makes her way downstairs. She enters the changing area and removes her clothes, tossing them aside next to another pair that she doesn't notice. She wraps a towel around herself and walks into the showering area. She is about to take of her glasses, but freezes at the sight before her. Keitaro is standing under one of the nozzles, the water cascading over his naked body. Luckily for Naru, he is looking up into the water, his face covered up so he can't see her.  
  
Blushing heavily, the long haired young woman starts to leave, but the landlord raises his arms to rub his face and she pauses at the sight of his lean muscles at work in his movements. He appears to have just entered the showers a bit before her, judging by the dirt and grime that is still falling from him. Time seems to slow as her eyes soak in every detail about him, some of the water splashing off of him while the rest slowly slides down his body. 'He's got a cute butt,' she thinks with a near giggle, a nervous blush replacing her initial shocked one. 'But I wonder how...' her mind trails off as he turns a bit to get the water to wash the back of his head. Her eyes widen as her blush deepens several shades. '...Oh..._oh my_!'  
  
Keitaro sticks a finger in his ear and wiggles it around, getting the rest of the grime out of it. He suddenly freezes as his senses tell him that he isn't alone in the showering area. He slowly turns his head, his eyes focusing on Narusegawa, who isn't exactly looking at his face. He blushes deeply as he realizes what she is gazing at.  
  
It takes a couple of seconds for Naru to realize that she has been spotted. Her face darts up to meet his, the shock and embarrassment on her face perfectly matches his. "Uh...heh," she begins, smiling nervously. "Well...you see I was just..." she trails off as her head slowly begins to lower itself, her gaze resting again on a certain part of the young man.  
  
Keitaro quickly grabs the small towel by him and covers up, shouting, "What are you staring at you _pervert_?!"  
  
At the shouting of the word 'pervert', Motoko instantly appears, her sword ready in her hands. "What has happened?!" she shouts, clearly not noticing the scene before her. "Where is the pervert?!"  
  
"_There_!" Keitaro yells, pointing at Naru. "She was peeking in on me in the shower! _Get her_!"  
  
The samurai girl begins to advance on Naresegawa, but pauses, suddenly realizing what she is doing. She stands up and turns around, a disbelieving look on her face. "She was peeking at y..." the young woman trails off as she finally notices Keitaro's extremely revealing state of undress, the tiny towel chastely wrapped around his waist showing off a lot of his body. Her face rapidly heats up as her body stiffens, not accustomed to seeing a man in such a revealing state.  
  
The landlord hunches down and checks that the towel is still on, making sure nothing is showing. He looks up at the two flabbergasted girls in front of him. "What the hell are you two doing?!" he shouts incredulously, "_GET OUT OF HERE_!"  
  
Both Motoko and Naru jump at his shouting and dart out of the showering room. After they exit it, they lean against the wall by the entrance and slide down at exactly the same time, with identical blushes and shocked expressions. Keitaro suddenly bursts out of the showering room, wearing only a pair of dark sweats and his glasses back on. Narusegawa guiltily looks up at him. "Um...sorry?"  
  
The young man crosses his arms and shakes his head slightly, several drops of water falling out of his hair. "Just how long were you peeking at me?" he asks, a smile tugging at his lips.  
  
"I just got in there!" she shouts, jumping to her feet. "It was only..." she then sees the clock on the wall over Keitaro's shoulder. Her shoulders slump and she lowers her head, her face becoming so red and hot that you could cook an entire meal on it. "Uh...ten minutes..." the Tokyo U aspirant finishes, shuffling her feet.  
  
"_TEN MINUTES_?!" both Motoko and Keitaro shout, forcing the other girl back several steps. The younger woman takes the lead. "Narusegawa! How could you do such a thing to Urashima?! I had thought better of you!"  
  
Naru backs away, a twinge of fear in her eyes. "I didn't mean...well...uh...sorry?" she finishes lamely, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
The samurai girl advances menacingly, but stops as Keitaro places a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Motoko. I mean, I really don't like the thought of Narusegawa staring at me naked...for like ten minutes!" he adds exasperatedly, getting both women to blush heavily, one in remembrance and the other in thought, "but I can forgive and forget, can you girls?"  
  
They both nod at him. Motoko turns and begins to leave, but gives Naru a look that clearly says, 'This isn't over.' She calmly walks up the stairs back to her room, keeping her fury under control.  
  
Narusegawa gulps at her look, knowing that she is in for a serious talking by the younger woman later. Pretty much everyone in the Hinata House knows about the 'date' she is having with Keitaro later. The only thing that the young man doesn't know is how excited the samurai girl has been about it. She doesn't express it, but the look in her eyes when she is around him or when the dinner date becomes a part of the conversation is a dead giveaway that she really likes the guy.  
  
Naru was quite surprised to hear about their date, seeing as how he was making out with Kitsune that exact same day. At first she was ready to pound the life out of Keitaro, but had a brief talk with her best friend beforehand, and she was surprisingly mellow about the concept of the new landlord taking Motoko out, even somewhat encouraging. When asked why, the fox eyed girl responds, "They're just gonna go and get a bit to eat and talk at some old Chinese restaurant, how boring is that?! When I take him out, I'm gonna give him such a good time that he's gonna be out of it for weeks!" Shuddering off the possible ideas her friend has in store for the poor guy, Naru starts to leave, but pauses as Keitaro walks in front of her.  
  
"You wanted to take a dip in the hot springs, right?" He moves aside, his arm directing her towards the entrance. "Go on ahead, I'll go in after you."  
  
"A-Are you sure?" she asks. He nods in response. "Okay, thanks." She walks over to the entrance to the changing rooms, showers and hot springs. Naru takes one quick glance back at Keitaro and blushes a bit before going in.  
  
The young man takes his glasses off, his wet hair dripping water all over them. With his free hand he slicks his hair back then dries his rectangular frame glasses. He slowly begins to chuckle. "Never a dull moment around here."  
  
______  
  
A few hours later, Keitaro is sitting down on the couch in the living room, anxiously awaiting for Motoko to come down so they can have their dinner date. He is dressed in a very nice dark blue button up dress shirt with black dress pants. He did have a tie on, but decided to discard it, not wanting to look too flashy. Su, Shinobu, Kitsune and Naru all have walked by a few times, some telling him to have a good time and others wishing him luck in that he doesn't screw up and get on the business end of the samurai girl's sword.  
  
A very short time later, when the old grandfather clock strikes six, Motoko walks downstairs, wearing a very beautiful red Chinese sleeveless dress with high slits up each side. Her hair is up in another ponytail, only with a red tie in her hair instead of a white one like she has been using. As usual, she walks with the poise and grace of a supermodel, her eyes closed and a calm, collected look on her beautiful face. The young man is awed at her appearance, completely amazed at his luck. 'She doesn't even need make-up to look gorgeous,' he thinks. 'She's one of those rare natural beauties.' He stands up, nervously running a hand through his hair. "W-Wow Motoko. You look...incredible."  
  
The samurai girl blushes, but only slightly. "Thank you Urashima. Your aunt thought this would look very nice on me. She also picked out these shoes," she adds, pointing down to the red dress shoes with straps that are wrapped around her legs up to her knees, "and assisted in putting them on me. She originally picked out ones with heels, but I am...I cannot walk in them." She blushes slightly after this.  
  
"That's okay Motoko, I'm just glad that you actually wanted to go on this dinner date with me." A coughing from behind diverts their attention. They both turn to see the other tenants watching them pointedly.  
  
Kitsune walks up to Motoko, looking her up and down. "I must say, you're looking pretty hot!" she says with a smile. Her eyes move over and rest on Keitaro. "And you're looking pretty snazzy yourself! Ya know Motoko, I'm kinda jealous of you right now!"  
  
Both begin to blush under the fox eyed girl's compliments. Shinobu clasps her hands together, her eyes big and sparkling. "Oh wow! You both look really nice!"  
  
Su leaps into the air and latches herself onto the nicely dressed young woman. "Yeah! But somethin's a little funny." She unlatches herself and stands in front of Motoko, staring at her chest. "I don't remember those being this big!" She starts to poke her left breast. "You stuffin' them or something Motoko?" Everyone except for Su blushes deeply, even Kitsune.  
  
The samurai girl scoots back, her hands covering her chest area. "_N-No_! Of course not! I would never do such a ridiculous thing to flaunt my body! I just...I am just not wearing my chest bindings," she finishes, hanging her head down in shame.  
  
Keitaro, being the kind-hearted savior that he is, pats her on her shoulder lightly. "Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Now earlier though..." he adds with a cringe, getting deep blushes from both Motoko and Naru.  
  
Su and Shinobu look between the three, clearly confused. Kitsune, on the other hand, smiles evilly. 'It looks like I'm gonna have to prod some info out of Naru when those two leave!' she thinks while rubbing her hands together.  
  
Keitaro starts to back off, rubbing the back of his head. "Well I think its time me and Motoko get going now, so see you guys later!" He takes the younger woman by the hand and they quickly escape, not wanting to be interrogated anymore.  
  
"If that was just for us leaving," Motoko begins as they reach the stone steps that will take them down into town, "I dread to think of what will happen when we return."  
  
"You and me both," the young Urashima agrees. It is now that he notices that they are still holding hands. He is about to let go when she grips his hand a little tighter, not quite ready to let go yet.  
  
At his curious look, she replies, "Well we are on a date now, are we not?" He nods in response. "I assume this sort of thing is a natural occurrence on dates, though I am not certain."  
  
"Yeah, I don't really know either, seeing as how this...well this is my first date," he says with an embarrassed blush. He is completely taken back at the genuine smile Motoko gives him.  
  
"This is my first date as well, so let's go out and have a good time!" With a small giggle that has just recently become more of a regular thing to hear from her, Motoko pulls Keitaro down the steps, feeling more excited about the date than for anything she has done in recent years. 'This is strange,' she thinks to herself. 'I feel so comfortable around him in this revealing clothing, and I seem to not want to release his hand.' She blushes a little bit in thought. 'I feel...so warm right now, and it is not just the warmth of his hand or his nearness to me. His aura is so kind and caring and loving, I feel very drawn to him and I wish to be closer to him physically to bask in his warmth.' She smiles again. 'I like this feeling!'  
  
______  
  
Back in the Hinata House, Naru is busy studying again when someone knocks on her door. "Come on in," she calls out. The door slides open and Kitsune calmly walks in, though her smile is beginning to make her good friend slightly nervous. "What's up Kitsune?"  
  
"Oh nothing," the older woman replies airily, looking around the room. "Just wanted to see how the studying's goin'."  
  
Naru closes her textbook and glances up at the fox eyed girl. "It's going alright," she answers with a shrug. The long haired girl stares at Kitsune with a pointed glare. "But that's not what you came here to ask me, so spill it."  
  
Kitsune's current smile has certain devilish qualities to it. "Well, since you asked so nicely..." she pauses to chuckle menacingly, "I was going up to Motoko's room to she what she was doin', you know, since her date with good ole Keitaro was in just a couple of hours. Any way, I was about to knock on her door when I overheard her mumbling quite loudly to herself." Her smile widens at the blush on her best friend's face, knowing full well where this conversation is leading. "Well she seemed really upset about whatever she was mumbling about so naturally I had to listen in and find out what was bugging her."  
  
"Kitsune," Naru begins in a pleading tone, "please..."  
  
"Ah, ah, ah!" the older girl interrupts, waving a finger back and forth. "Don't interrupt me! I'm getting to the best part!" She pauses to stretch, deliberately delaying the inevitable. After a few seconds, she continues, "Well listening for a while, I found out everything I needed to know." She suddenly leans in close, her eyes opening slightly with barely contained mirth. "So is it true?! Did you walk in on Keitaro in the shower?! Did you see him naked?!"  
  
The younger woman nods slowly, a heavy blush reappearing on her face. "Y-Yeah...I did."  
  
Kitsune falls to the floor, holding her sides and laughing with all her might. "Oh...this is priceless!" She suddenly jumps to her feet, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "So...tell me."  
  
Naru looks up, clearly confused, though her mind is starting to think of what she may want to know. 'Oh god no!' she thinks in horror. 'I can't tell her that! Keitaro would be so embarrassed that I discussed this with her! I'm really glad Motoko didn't ask, though she would probably readily commit seppuku before admitting she'd be interested in even knowing.' She nervously asks, "Uh...w-what are you talking about?"  
  
"You know," she responds, shoving her playfully. "You saw our landlord's best friend. What was he like?"  
  
The younger woman fears her head is about to explode from how quickly it heats up from her best friend's analogy. "I-I-I can't tell you _that_!" she shouts, a mortified look on her face. "What would Keitaro say?!"  
  
Kistune shrugs slightly. "I don't see what's the big deal about discussing this. I mean, this is normal girl talk. Girls talk about this stuff all the time." She pats Naru encouragingly on her shoulder. "So come on! Tell me!" The younger woman shakes her head vigorously, too shy to say anything. "Okay, okay, then show me!"  
  
Naru's head snaps up, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. "_S-Show you_?" her voice comes out in a strangled squeak.  
  
"Yep!" the fox eyed girl chuckles. She holds her hands out in front of her and spaces them different distances apart. "I want to...no...scratch that, I need to know!" The Tokyo U aspirant shakily moves her hands out and shows the exact size, the memory still fresh in her mind from staring at...him earlier. Kitsune's jaw literally hits the floor. "_Really_?!" she asks in an excited whisper. "Is that how..." she trails off as Naru nods again, her body trembling slightly. "And he wasn't even..." she barely gets the words out before her friend nods ever so slightly again just before she rushes from her room, desperate to get away from further extreme embarrassment. The short haired woman sits down on the floor, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. An old foxy glint reappears in her eyes. 'Looks like I have to go back to town,' she thinks to herself. 'I need to buy some _bigger_ aspirin!'   
  
  
**To be continued...**  
  
______  
  
**Author's notes**: Hey there. I'm sorry I didn't get to the actual dinner date like I said in last chapter's notes, but I was really going with that whole peeking in the shower and such. I was just too good of an idea to not add in. You agree with me, right?  
  
I was going with the progress of my 4 fic with only doing one at a time, but this one just came out so easily. I am currently working on my Tenchi one and I've got half of it done, so hopefully it'll be done soon. My two Inu-Yasha fics will soon follow.  
  
Well I will definitely get to the date next chapter, I promise you that. It's gonna be all nice and romantic like and stuff, not to mention a surprise bump into an '_aspirin_' buying Kitsune! Classic Love Hina wackiness will soon follow. Keep in touch! – _lighthawkdemon_  
  
Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	8. The Big Date

**Love Hina**   
  
  
_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga since I haven't seen any of the anime. Yeah, I'm getting kinda tired of saying this and I'm pretty sure you're just as tired of reading it, but here it goes: I will watch the anime. I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises  
Chapter 8:  
The Big Date   
  
**  
Keitaro and Motoko make it to the bottom of the stone steps, still holding hands. Since the very nice restaurant they are going to isn't too far away, they decide to walk. Within a few minutes, they have reached their destination. The restaurant is small and a little secluded, but the food is really good and is perfect for their first date. They walk in and the samurai girl looks around. "This is very quaint and nice," she comments, a light blush on her cheeks at the thought that she is actually going out on her first date.****

"Yeah," Keitaro begins, "I went here once a long time ago with my family. I remember the food was excellent." They walk up to the hostess and she leads them to their seats. The entire Chinese restaurant has, of course, a Chinese theme to it. Old paintings and decorations liven up the atmosphere while soft music plays in the background. The area that the young landlord and Motoko are led too has a more romantic atmosphere to it, with the lights dimmed and a single candle on each table. Both embarrassedly sit down, their nervousness of the situation slowly rising.

The two pick up their menus and look around for something they would like to have. The landlord's eyes settle on the combination plates. "Hey, these combo plates at the bottom right look pretty good," he comments. "And they come with a bunch of sides."

"Hmm…they do look very appetizing," Motoko agrees, gazing at that part of the menu. "I am normally accustomed to Shinobu's cooking, but I guess I can make an exception once in a while." They both chuckle lightly at the comment. A few minutes later, the waiter has taken their order and they awkwardly sit at their table, both unsure of what to do.

Keitaro decides to break the silence. "So Motoko, tell me a bit about yourself."

"What do you wish to know Urashima?"

The Tokyo U student taps his chin in thought. "Well…actually anything about you would be nice. The only time we've spent together is when we're training in the mornings, and we really don't get the chance to talk then."

The samurai girl smiles sweetly at him. "Yes, that is true. Well, to begin, I am a member of the Gods' Cry School, an ancient secret fighting style."

"Gods' Cry School?" Keitaro repeats, raising an eyebrow. "I've never heard of it before. How do you join it?"

Motoko shakes her head, a small smile still on her face. "No, it is not something you can join, you have to be born into the school." At his confused look, she translates. "Every current member is a blood descendant of the original founders, and of course that includes myself."

The young man nods once in understanding. "Ah, that's cool. So some of those techniques you've used on me during training were things you learned in that school?" She nods in response. "Well I must say, you've been training really well. Those techniques were quite powerful and executed with such great perfection." He smiles and winks at her.

The Aoyama woman blushes heavily, her training and warrior lifestyle always having been something she prides herself in incredibly. "T-Thank you Urashima," she stutters out, staring down into her lap. The waiter suddenly appears with the food, saving Motoko from further embarrassment.

For the next hour or so, the two eat their food and talk a great deal about their lives, their comfort quickly rising as well as their affection for one another. Sometime during the meal, Keitaro's foot bumped into Motoko's when he was shifting in his seat. The young woman, thinking it was intentional, blushes heavily and, instead of lashing out like she normally does, starts to respond by rubbing her leg against his, hoping that she is doing the right thing. The young Urashima blushes as well, surprised by her actions, but allows her to continue and smiles shyly at her.

Some time later, they have finished their nice meal and Keitaro paid the bill. They exit the restaurant walking closely together. The sun has begun to set and everything has been lit in a beautiful pre dusk glow. "So…where are we going now Urashima?" Motoko asks, now uncertain of where they will be heading. 'He only mentioned the restaurant,' she thinks to herself. 'I hope he has something else planned, for I am greatly enjoying getting to know him better, and I do not desire for this night to end so quickly.'

Keitaro looks over at the beautiful woman beside him, a slight smile now occupying his face. "We're not going home just yet," he replies, noting the relief in Motoko's eyes, "I've got another place I want to take you."

"Where is this place?" she asks again, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Can't tell," he replies, poking her on the nose gently, "it's a secret."

The young woman blushes a bit when he touches her nose. She has noticed that she is the only person he does that to, like it's a special small showing of affection that he reserves just for her. 'Perhaps…perhaps it is a sign that he cares more for me than he does the others,' she thinks hopefully.

As they walk down the street, a familiar figure walks out of the nearest store, whistling a happy tune while swinging a brown paper bag in her hand. She turns her head, and smiles at the two walking up to her. "Well now, don't you two look cute," Kitsune says, her usual foxy grin reappearing. She quickly clasps shut the bag she is carrying, careful not to show its contents to the two in front of her. "So you guys are already done with the date thing? You sure weren't out long."

"We're not through with the date yet," Keitaro replies, patting Motoko on the shoulder. "We just finished a part of it."

"Really?" the fox eyed girl asks, sidling up next to the young man. "So what else do you have planned out in that dirty little mind of yours? Planning on dragging poor little Motoko off to some cheesy motel and taking advantage of her sweet, pure body?" She leans back dramatically with a hand over her eyes. "Oh I can't bear the thought!"

Keitaro rolls his eyes and chuckles slightly, but Motoko frowns in thought. 'He would not try such a thing…would he? He is nice and he has shown no such intentions, but he is still a male, and they are driven by lust over the lure of the female body. That is what I have believed for so long now and it has to be true, isn't it?'

Kitsune chuckles merrily and goes in between the two, wrapping her arms around their shoulders. "Ah I'm just joking around guys! Well I don't want to bug you two anymore so I'm going on back home, later!"

As she starts to walk away, the Tokyo U student stops her. "So what do you have in the bag Kitsune?"

The young woman falters for a brief moment. "Oh! Um…just some aspirin!" she quickly answers, acting nonchalantly.

"More?!" Keitaro replies, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, I think maybe you should cut back on the drinking Kitsune. If you've been having that many headaches, you should take it as a sign. I don't want to see you hurt or anything."

Kitsune smiles at his genuine concern for her well being. 'You really are one of a kind Keitaro,' she thinks to herself. Putting her foxy grin back on, she responds, "Well don't worry your cute little self Mr. Landlord, the other stuff I got wasn't going to work out well, but I'm pretty sure this will!" With a wink, she turns around and walks away, leaving two slightly confused people behind.

"I didn't exactly get that last part, did you?" Motoko shakes her head, still looking at the retreating fox eyed girl. "Eh, I guess there's no real understanding of that woman." He starts to walk off, but pauses as he notices that he's walking alone. "Motoko, is something wrong?"

The younger woman looks up, suddenly snapped out of her thoughts. "W-What? Oh, _no_! I…I was just thinking of her words."

Keitaro places his hands on her shoulders and looks up a bit into her eyes. "You know she was just kidding around. I would never even think of trying such a thing. Just because I'm a guy and I do have some perverted thoughts here and there doesn't mean I'm going to act out on them."

Motoko blushes slightly. "I-I guess you are right. I am sorry for doubting your intentions."

"Great!" he smiles, taking her hand and pulling her away. "I want to take a quick stop before we head off to our next destination."

"Where are we going?"

He looks over his shoulder to flash one of his winning smiles. "Trust me."

______ 

Over at the Café Hinata, Naru walks in, intending on talking to Haruka. Lucky for her, the older woman is sitting down on a stool, chatting with one of her regulars. She walks right up to her, clearing her throat to get her attention. The Urashima woman turns her head, nodding at the younger girl. "Can you sit down at one of the empty tables Naru?" she asks. "I'll be with you in just a minute."

The long haired woman nods and sits down at a table, patiently waiting. A minute or so later, Haruka calmly walks over to her table and pulls out a seat, sitting down and crossing her legs. "So what do you want to talk about this time Naru?"

Narusegawa fidgets uncomfortably in her chair. "Well I…uh sorta overheard your nephew talking out loud to himself about a week ago, and mentioned something that's been bugging me for a while. I've been wanting to ask him, but there hasn't been any really good opportunities, so I was wondering if you could tell me?"

The older woman keeps a calm and impassive face, but on the inside she is beginning to feel defensive. 'Uh oh,' she thinks, 'something tells me that I'm not gonna want to tell her whatever she's about to ask.' She pulls her cigarette out of her mouth, letting out a puff of smoke while she does so. "Okay…shoot."

"Who is Kanako?"

Though Haruka prides herself on being able to keep her emotions under control and keep on a neutral poker face, there are some touchy subjects that break through her tough resolve. Her niece is one of them. She takes her cigarette and puts it out on an ashtray on the table, sighing deeply. "Naru…I'm not too sure I'm the one who should tell you everything. This subject has been really touchy for my entire family, especially Keitaro. Out of respect for him, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. You want answers, go ask my nephew."

The younger woman sighs a bit. "Okay, thanks any way Haruka. See you later." She stands up and leaves the café, waving goodbye to the former housemother of Hinata House. 'Alright,' she thinks to herself, 'that was a waste. I guess I have to go and ask him later…when he gets back from his date with Motoko.' She growls a bit after that thought, getting odd looks in her direction from the people around her. Blushing, she runs to the stone steps leading up to her home. "That damn guy," she mumbles, "nothing has been going right in my life ever since he came into it. Why do I feel like things can only get worse with him?" 

______ 

Keitaro and Motoko rush down the street, the young man still pulling the samurai girl along. "Come on!" he begins, a big grin on his face, "we're almost there!"

"Almost where?" Motoko looks up and her eyes go wide as she sees that they are headed straight for a hotel. "_W-W-What_?!" she shouts, her voice sounding very squeaky. "We are going _there_?!" Her nervousness skyrockets at the thoughts pouring into her head. 'A hotel?!' her mind screams. 'Does that mean that he wants to…? But I am not ready…am I? What would oneesan think of me?' As Keitaro pulls her past a curtain, the samurai girl shouts, "Urashiima _wait_! I…I cannot do this?"

The young man frowns a bit at her. "Are you sure Motoko? I mean, it's just a print club booth."

"But I value my virg…_what_?" at her question, he pulls her in all the way and faces her towards a screen. He smiles and holds up his right hand in a peace sign just as a picture is taken. Motoko looks up at his face, a heavy blush still on her cheeks. "I-Is that what your intentions were when you dragged me here? To take a picture of the two of us?"

"Yeah," Keitaro admits, rubbing the back of his head, "It's been sort of a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember." He grabs the two small photos taken and hands one to the younger woman. "Here you go. This can be like a memento of our little date."

Motoko takes the photo he hands her, her heart still beating a bit fast. 'You silly fool,' she thinks to herself, though she is unsure whether or not it is directed towards herself or Urashima.

______ 

The samurai girl cannot help but smile at the sheer beauty of the park she and Keitaro just entered. "I have been here a few times in the early afternoon," she begins, looking around. "I find the serene environment calm and relaxing, perfect for meditation, but I cannot believe how magnificent it is at night."

"Yeah," Keitaro adds, "this place is really well funded so they keep it in great condition. It's been a very popular spot for as long as I can remember." He looks up at a clock up on a post. "Oh good, it's just about to start." He gently takes Motoko's hand and leads her further into the park towards the center of it.

"Urashima, where are we…oh," the samurai girl trails off as they enter a clearing where a large and very nice marble multi layered fountain resides. A group of people is already there and are circling the fountain, chatting to one another and having a generally good time. "Why has such a group gathered here?" she asks the young man next to her. "Yes, this fountain is lovely, I have seen it before, but I do not understand why such a gathering has occurred now."

The Tokyu U student smirks slightly. "You'll find out in about thirty seconds."

Motoko raises an eyebrow, but remains calm. After a little bit, she starts to become impatient. She is about to say something when the lights around the fountain dim and everyone quickly shushes one another. For the next several minutes, everyone present is rewarded with their patience by an incredible water show from the fountain. Colored lights turn on, adding to the mystique and grace of the streams of water as they shoot into the air. Keitaro turns to the younger woman, smiling at her amazed look.

The samurai girl, sensing she is being watched, turns her head a bit to see the landlord looking at her, a warm smile on his face. She quickly looks back to the show, a mild blush on her cheeks. 'Why is he looking at me like that? If I am not mistaken, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes when he was looking at me. He…_admires_ me?' That thought increases her blush.

A little while later, the fountain show has ended and the group that came to watch has begun to disperse. "So what did you think Motoko?" Keitaro asks, the two now leaving the park. "Not just the fountain show, but the whole date in general?"

"It was…unexpected," she truthfully answers. "I must admit, I had not expected much, but then again, I have never been on a date before. You surprised me with these two extra visits to that photo booth and the park, but they were both very nice. I had a good time and enjoyed getting to know you better Urashima."

"So did I Motoko." Keitaro yawns slightly, covering his mouth. "Well I think we should probably go home now. If we stay out any later, everybody at the Hinata House will freak out at us…or come to some very wrong conclusions." Both he and the samurai girl wince in thought.

The young woman frowns slightly. "Yes, I can hardly imagine what thoughts are running through Kitsune's head. I fear to find out what she will ask us upon our return."

"So lets going before we add any more fuel to her fire." With a nod, the two head off, on their way home.

Soon they are nearing the steps that lead up to the Hinata House. The two are laughing and chatting about their heated encounter when Keitaro came into their lives a little over a week ago. Suddenly, two large burly men emerge from the shadows, not looking like they have the best intentions in mind. "Well now what do we have here?" the larger of the two asks his companion, smiling a not too friendly smile.

"It looks like a really hot girl's hanging out with some scrawny little twirp!" The two men roar up with laughter. "Go on and leave boy, we need to spend some quality time with the lady!" the two men smile hungrily, making the two people in front of them feel sick to their stomachs.

Keitaro and Motoko instantly go into defensive stances. The samurai girl, though now frustrated that her sword is not with her, is also gladdened that this past week she has been training both with and without it while training with Urashima. He noticed that her skills without her sword were a bit lacking so he helped improve her hand-to-hand skills while she helped to improve his sword fighting technique. 'I am ready for this,' she mentally tells herself. 'These two are petty thugs and disgusting perverts, nothing more.'

The larger thug walks up to Keitaro, cracking his knuckles and smiling menacingly. "Why don't you just run along now kid? It'll be a lot less painful if you do." He throws a punch down at the Tokyo U student, but gasps as the young man catches it in his hand effortlessly.

"It will be less painful," he admits, just before he grabs the thug's arm with her other hand and flips him over his shoulder, slamming him painfully onto the ground. "Less painful for you," he adds with a smile.

"Why you little bastard!" the other man shouts, charging straight for Keitaro. "I'll kill you!" He goes in for a swing, but Keitaro leaps back and dodges it. Unfortunately for the young man, he trips over the fallen thug's large arm and falls onto the ground. The second thug smirks. "I got you now kid!" He swings with his other arm, this time sure to hit Keitaro square in the jaw. All the thug sees is a sudden rush of red and the next thing he knows what is happening, he is flying into the air, courtesy of a fierce uppercut from Motoko. He falls onto the street, knocked unconscious.

The samurai girl dusts herself off and turns to the young man, smiling brilliantly. "This date was even better than I thought!"

Keitaro shakes his head while he stands back up, but smiles all the same. "Now _that_ I did not plan," he chuckles, "but I got to remember to hire a couple of goons next time."

"Is that an invitation for another date?" she asks in a hushed whisper, her hand over her heart.

The young man nods in response. "Sure, if you'd like to go on another one that is." He gets an answer at the form of a kind smile from her. "Come on, let's go home, I think we've had enough excitement for one day."

The two walk up the stairs both felling happy yet sad at the same time. Happy for having such a great first date with the other and getting to know the other better and sad because they don't want the day to end. They finally reach the top of the stairs and are now a few feet in front of the Hinata House's front entrance. The young Urashima begins to reach out for the door handle, but is stopped by Motoko taking his other hand. He turns to see her shyly looking at him, a beautiful flush on her face. "I…I want to…that is I thank you for a such wonderful evening Urashima."

"Well I had a great time too Motoko. I'm just glad that you enjoyed yourself." His eyes widen a bit as the young woman slowly, shakily walks closer to him. "M-Motoko?" His breath catches in his throat as she lets go of his hand and places her hands on his shoulders, slowly closing the distance between the two of them. He lets out a sigh, both of relief and disappointment when she leans in and hugs him.

"Thank you Urashima," she whispers, keeping her frustration hidden. 'Why could I not kiss him?!' her mind screams at her. 'I was right there, but I faltered…damn it!'

Keitaro returns the hug, gently wrapping his arms around the younger woman. "You are welcome Motoko," he replies, his breath tingling the samurai girl's ear. He realizes his mistake when he feels her body stiffen and hears her gasp in a breath. Quickly, he pulls back. "Oh Motoko, I'm so…mmph!" he never gets to finish his apology as the young woman plants her lips onto his. 'Oh wow, this feels amazing!' he thinks in awe.

The young woman reluctantly pulls back a little while later. "T-Thank you once more Ura…K-Keitaro," she adds shyly.

The Tokyo U student smiles slightly while rubbing the back of his head. "I should be the one who thanks you Mo…" he trails off again as he notices that the front door is open and the four other tenants of the Hinata House are all watching them, mouths agape. "Uh…hi guys!"   
  
  
**To be continued…**

______ 

**Author's notes**: Heh, well there was the big date between Motoko and Keitaro. I hope you like it. I was actually having some difficulty working on what I wanted to have them do. It's not perfect, I know (sorry!), but I couldn't think of a whole lot of good ideas to go on, what with my lack of experience with the whole dating game myself.

In the next chapter, I'm going to try to get back to the manga storyline. I'm currently rereading through the first two volumes to see which story fits into the time frame my story is now in. As usual, stay patient and you will be greatly rewarded…with a new chapter! – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	9. A Jealous Pact

**Love Hina   
**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga since I haven't seen any of the anime. I'm not too sure about watching the anime anymore, they make too many changes from the original manga storyline. Manga is the way to go! But if it'll make you guys happy I guess I will watch them someday. I promise.   
_ 

**Different Promises   
Chapter 9:   
The Jealous Pact   
**

Keitaro and Motoko stare guiltily at the other tenants of the Hinata House, everyone except for Su blushing in different shades. Before the two young people who just came home from their date can say a word, the rest of the girls rush them, grabbing the samurai girl and dragging her into their home and quickly slamming the door shut. The landlord sighs and shakes his head slightly. He walks up to the front door and turns the handle, but it is locked. Shaking his head again, he reaches into his pocket to get his key, but quickly finds that it isn't there. Keitaro pauses for a moment, trying to conjure up some rational thoughts. When none come, he begins to pound frantically on the door shouting, "Hey! Let me in! I live here too you know!"

______ 

Motoko looks around nervously at her four friends, each of whom are staring holes into the young woman's head, anxious to know what happened in her date with Keitaro, and why she kissed him when they got back home. 'What do I tell them?' she thinks to herself. 'Surely I cannot tell them the truth that he talked into my ear and I felt…' she trails off with a near blush.

"So tell us," Kitsune begins, folding her arms with a badly hidden frown. "What all happened on your date, and why were you gettin' all sloppy smoochies with Keitaro just outside the front door?" 

That last part causes Shinobu to blush heavily and sway back and forth. "Y-You were using your t-t-tongue…on sempai?" she suddenly falls to the floor, her mouth slightly agape and swirly eyed.

"W-We were doing no such thing!" Motoko shouts, standing up off of her seat on the couch. "It was…it was just a goodnight kiss and a way of saying thank you for such a nice date…that was all." The uncertainty in her voice is so obvious that even she notices it, grimacing as she does.

"Sure," the fox eyed girl replies in a disbelieving tone, her frown now much more visible. Throwing caution into the wind, she grabs Motoko's hand and drags her upstairs into her room, closing and locking the door. 

Naru, Shinobu and Su all blink a few times, not too sure what to do now. "Well that was a little strange," the older girl comments while scratching the top of her head. The two younger girls nod, also looking confused. 

______ 

Kitsune walks around the younger woman in a circle with her arms crossed and a very serious look etched onto her face. After a few moments of strangled silence, Kitsune finally says, "I want you to stay away from him."

The samurai girl narrows her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I like you Motoko, you're a really good person, but I want you to stay away from Keitaro." She sits down next to the younger woman, a sincere look now spreading across her pretty features. "I've never met someone like him before. Every guy I've met is only interested in my body, but Keitaro…" she trails off, leaning a cheek onto her hand with a small smile, "when I'm with him…I feel…well I feel amazing. I mean, I know he's interested in my body, he's a guy, he can't help it, but he seems genuinely more interested in me and getting to know me as a person, and not just 'getting to know' my body and all."

"Yes, I too have noticed that about him," Motoko agrees. "Urashima does not let the lure of the female to distract him and lust him through life. He is a serious and dedicated person, and I admire that about him." She pauses for a moment and looks at Kitsune, a warm feeling spreading into her eyes. "He was so incredibly kind and respectful during our date earlier. He put my needs above everything else, even his own. Urashima did everything in his power to make me happy and make sure that I had a good time." 

Kitsune nods slightly. "Yeah, he is a big sweetie. So tell me, did you guys like flirt or anything? You know, like light touches here and there?" She pushes the other girl playfully. "And what about when you kissed him?"

Motoko lowers her head, blushing a glorious shade of red. "I…well…what I mean is…" she stops for a second to shake her blush and nervousness off. "It was…amazing," the young woman admits, faint traces of her blush still evident. "Though I have never really kissed a male before…the sensations I felt when our lips touched…" she trails off and sighs slightly, a happy look in her eyes.

Kitsune notices this. 'Her feelings for him are a lot stronger than I thought,' she thinks to herself. 'I don't want to just give him up, but I don't want to hurt Motoko's feelings either.' She rubs her chin with a chuckle. "Girl, you and I have got a serious problem to work out concerning Keitaro." The taller girl nods in agreement. "Do you wanna share him? I bet it'd be fun! I'm sure he wouldn't have any complaints with the two of us all over him!"

"What?!" the samurai girl asks, her eyes wide in disbelief. "S-Share him?! I could not do such a dishonorable thing! I would never forgive myself if I acted in such a…" she trails off as Kitsune bursts out laughing.

"Just kidding! I'm joking!" She rubs her chin in thought. "Hmm…maybe we can sorta share him…like we each take turns dating him or something. That way, both of us are happy and we aren't doing anything wrong."

Motoko looks at the other woman hard in the eyes, trying to read her. After a few moments, she sighs in resignation. "I must admit that you do have a point there. The idea is logical and it does not seem dishonorable in any way. Perhaps we can give it a try."

"There ya go Motoko!" Kitsune cheers, reaching over and patting the other girl on the back. She pauses a looks at her, finally noticing something. "You know, you've begun to change."

"Change? What do you mean?"

She leans to the side, her hand supporting her head. "A few months ago, you probably would've freaked at the thought of even going out with a guy, much less making deals about dating him. Face it, there's something special about Keitaro, and everyone around here is changing because of him."

"I am sorry Kitsune, but that is not…" Motoko pauses, looking to the side as realization finally dawns upon her. "You are right." She suddenly frowns as she notices something. Standing quickly, she walks over to Kitsune's door, unlocking and swiftly opening it, not surprised in the least at the three young women who topple into the room. "And just what were the three of you doing?" she asks, folding her arms.

Naru's head darts back and forth, searching around for an answer. "We…uh…um…ah! Su misplaced one of her gadgets and me and Shinobu were helping her find it! Right guys?" The two younger girls on each side of her nod vigorously in agreement.

"Well that's funny," Kitsune begins, her voice filled with amusement, "because, if I remember correctly, that was the exact same excuse you used a few weeks ago when you were eavesdropping in on me when I was on the phone with that cute guy I met at the bar."

Knowing that she has been caught red handed, Naru mutters a quick, "Crap," just before she grabs both Su and Shinobu by the back collars of their shirts and drags them away, mumbling grumpily the whole time. 

The fox eyed girl shakes her head slightly. "Ya know, for someone as brainy as her, you'd think she would've learned that she can't peek in on either of us. We're just way too good to not notice her."

"Yes," Motoko agrees, closing her eyes, "her patterns on eavesdropping are both obvious and sloppy." She turns and begins to leave Kitsune's room. "Although I consider you as a friend and fellow tenant, as of this moment Mitsune, we are rivals."

Kitsune chuckles mildly. "I guess you're right." She places her hands on her hips, a bright smile on her face. "Well Motoko, may the best girl win."

The samurai girl walks off without answering, though thinks, 'I intend to,' to herself.

______ 

Unbeknownst to both of them, a certain male figure overheard the whole conversation from outside. Keitaro, while still trying to get inside, was climbing up a tree outside of Kitsune's room in hopes of catching one of the girl's attentions so they would let him inside. He never intended to eavesdrop on the two of them talking, but since their little chat involved him, he couldn't resist listening in. Luckily for the landlord, the darkness of the night hid him from view, and he was quiet and sneaky enough to not be noticed by Motoko's sharp senses.

Slowly, he slides down the trunk of the tree, not paying attention to the bark as it scrapes across his skin, as his mind is elsewhere. 'Wow,' he thinks in awe, 'I didn't realize that those two were that interested in me.' He rubs the back of his head, absentmindedly walking back to the front door of the Hinata House. Just as he reaches it, the door opens and Motoko stands in the doorframe, smiling very slightly.

"I expected that you were still out here. When the other tenants are enticed about something, they tend to forget about other things and people around them, and in this case, they forgot about you." She moves aside to allow Keitaro to enter.

"I feel so loved," the young man comments while entering, keeping his newfound nervousness under wraps to not arouse suspicion. The conversation he just heard is still quite fresh on his mind, making him a bit wary around Motoko at the moment. "Well I'm feeling really tired so I think I'll turn in early. Goodnight Motoko!" He starts to make a break for the stairs, but the younger woman mysteriously appears in front of him. "Um…y-yes? Is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

The samurai girl shuffles nervously. "Well…you see…I really enjoyed myself today and I wanted…I was wondering if you would like to do it again sometime." She lowers her head, an embarrassed blush instantly gracing her cheeks. "I mean, you agreed to do so again earlier, but I felt it would be appropriate to make it official."

Keitaro is stunned by the young woman's request. He is just about to reply, when his back stiffens, feeling that someone is watching in on them. Pretending to rub the back of his head, his eyes quickly dart around settling on the undeniable figure of Mitsune Konno, an unreadable expression on her face. At this, the young landlord feels his stomach begin to lurch. 'Oh yeah,' he thinks to himself, 'Kitsune likes me too…well that much was obvious at how much she has been flirting with me. But now I feel bad about not even thinking about asking her out. I think I should, and it wouldn't be fair to her to agree to go on another date with Motoko already even though I sorta already did…but I don't want to hurt Motoko's feelings. What should I do?"

Luckily for him, the answer comes in the form of Su, who leaps down from the third floor, falling straight for Motoko and shouting, "Heyas!"

The samurai girl looks up and braces herself just in time for impact. She catches the foreign girl and they tumble backwards, the force of her fall a little greater than Motoko originally assumed it would be. "Ah! Su! Get off of me!"

The younger girl suddenly gets a puppy dog look in her eyes, small whimpers escaping her. "But I wanted to play," she whines. "You said you'd play with me and you're not. You're boring." She crosses her arms and frowns.

"Well I can see that you're kinda busy Motoko so I'll talk to you later," Keitaro hurriedly says just before he rushes up to his room, thankful to Su for the interruption.

The young woman watches the Urashima male sprint upstairs, a sad feeling filling her up. 'He did not even give me a response,' she thinks. 'Was he lying to me? Did he not enjoy our date as much as he said that he did? I-I must find out.' Reaching up, she slips Su off of her like a body suit, the younger girl not wanting to let go of her companion. "Su…perhaps we can play some other time, I do not feel up to it right now. I promise I will."

"Okies!" the hyperactive foreigner says, leaping to her feet with her boundless energy. "But remember, you promised!" 

"Yes…I did," she responds, sadly walking upstairs to her room.

Kitsune watches on with a slight frown. 'Hmm, that girl is a lot more forward than I thought,' she thinks to herself. 'I hate to admit it, but she is prettier than I am, and she's got that whole cute innocence thing going on. If she really wanted to, she could have Keitaro wrapped around her fingers in no time.' She begins to walk the short distance to his room, saying, "I think it's time to put a major kick start on the ol' charms on Mr. Landlord!"

______ 

Keitaro sits down at the desk in his room, rubbing his temples in agitation. "Ugh, I shouldn't have run off on Motoko like that, that was really rude of me. I'll have to apologize to her later." He looks up as he hears a slight knocking on his door. "Come in."

The door slides open and Kitsune walks in, a slight smile on her face. "Hey there," she greets. "Sorry about locking you out earlier, we were so interested in pumping some info out of Motoko that we kinda forgot all about you."

"Yeah, I noticed," he replies with a frown. "So what brings you to my room?"

"Not much," she replies, clasping her hands behind her back and walking around Keitaro's room, smiling inconspicuously. "Just wondering what you were up to." She begins to pace around his room, looking around at the little knick-knacks he has, deliberately not looking at him. 'Come on,' she thinks, 'I'm bugging you…tell me what I want to know!'

The young man watches Kitsune pace around his room, realizing that she's not going to leave until she gets something. "Okay," he sighs, "what do you want?"

Smirking in victory, the slightly younger woman stops her pacing and hops over to the table, sitting down opposite of Keitaro. "Well…since you put it so nicely…Motoko didn't tell me too much about your date, and I need details. Where all did you two go? I know you didn't spend the entire time at a restaurant, Motoko may be boring, but she's not _that_ boring."

The Tokyo U student chuckles slightly. "Well we stayed in the restaurant for a little while and we talked and stuff. After we left, I took her to a photo print club so we could have our picture taken. It's an old hobby of mine, don't ask," he adds. "The sun was starting to set so I took her to the park, and we talked a bit more along the way. When the sun set, we reached the middle of the park. There's a big fountain there and…"

"And there was a really cool water show," Kitsune finishes, nodding in remembrance. At his curious glance, she answers, "One night a while back…well…I was a bit drunk after I left one of the bars in town. I was crossing through the park for a shortcut and I walked into a big area where that fountain was, just as was starting its show. I remember it was really pretty…but I don't remember how I got back home." The two share a nice bout of laughter after this.

Keitaro stops laughing after a couple of seconds, watching the fox eyed girl in front of him. Thoughts of the conversation he overheard just a little bit ago plays over and over again in his mind. Thinking that now is good as a time as any, he decided to ask, "So…um…Kitsune, I was wondering if you wanted…I mean if you're interested…well…would you like to go out with me sometime?"

Kitsune instantly stops laughing, a surprised look now adorning her face. "Wha-what?! You're askin' me out?!" She rubs her chin with a smile. "Boy, I was actually planning on asking you out, but I guess you turned the tables on me!" She leans forward and ruffles his hair affectionately. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Before he can stop her, the younger woman leans in further and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. "My schedule's free so come talk to me whenever you want to go out on a date stud." She turns around and leaves his room, giving him a small wave just before sliding his door shut and walking away.

The young Urashima sits a little taller after Kitsune leaves. "Boy, that went a lot better than I thought. I guess being direct was the best choice." He begins to slump as another young woman enters his mind. "I have to talk to Motoko tomorrow. I need to apologize for running off on her without giving her an answer. I really would like to go out with her again."

______ 

Several hours later, it is the middle of the night and everyone in the Hinata House is sound asleep…everyone that is except for one certain young samurai girl. Motoko shuffles slightly on her futon, trying desperately to go to sleep. Unfortunately for the young woman, sleep is not coming to her, and it is not the foreign girl with the death grip on her that is keeping her awake, but rather the thought of the only male that is living in the house. "Urashima," she mutters out loud, not worrying about waking Su since she knows that it takes a lot to awaken her, "did I do something to scare you away? I can't rest until I know." 

Reaching down, she unbuttons her nightshirt and unties the strings on her night pants. Stealthily, she slips out of her clothing, leaving them in place so Su is content to squeeze her clothing that is still strong with her scent. Motoko wraps her arms around her bare chest, a chill running through her from the slightly cold night air. She walks over to her small dresser and pulls it open, reaching inside and grabbing the first piece of clothing she can find. Fortunately enough, it is an oversized shirt, like the kind Kitsune likes to wear to bed all the time. The young woman slips into it, surprised at how comfortable the shirt feels on her body. "Perhaps I will wear something like this to bed once in a while," she comments to herself.

Moving silently, she makes her way down the stairs to the landlord's room. Knowing full well that he is asleep, she slowly slides his door open and peeks inside. The moonlight has flooded into his room, giving her a good view of everything inside. Keitaro is sleeping soundly on his futon. Motoko peeks her head in a bit more, whispering, "Urashima?" When she gets no response, she slips into his room and tip toes her way to the young man's sleeping form. She kneels down next to him and pokes his shoulder lightly, whispering, "Urashima?" again.

This time, Keitaro stirs a bit. Groggily, he opens his eyes and blinks a few times. "Wha…who's there?" he asks while sitting up. As he adjusts to the light, his eyes make out the slim athletic figure with long raven hair next to him and his senses pick up the young woman's familiar and quite strong aura. "Motoko? Why are you in my room?"

"I…I couldn't sleep," she answers truthfully. "I had something on my mind at it was preventing me from getting any rest."

As his brain begins to function at a normal level, he is reminded of what he did earlier. "Listen Motoko, if it's about me running off on you earlier when you were asking me about another date, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but…well…to tell you the truth, I overheard you and Kitsune talking about me in her room." The young woman gasps slightly. "I'm sorry about that too, I was trying to get your attention, but then you started to talk about me and I listened in."

"So that was why you ran off?" she asks while drooping her head, unsure of what to feel at the present moment.

"Yeah, well that and Kitsune was watching us and I didn't want to hurt her feelings by agreeing to go on another date with you when I haven't even taken her out yet." He scratches the back of his head. "She stopped in here a little bit after I ran off on you and I asked her out." At this, Motoko's head snaps up sharply, the faintest traces of a frown on her lips. Keitaro doesn't notice as he continues on. "You know, I'm really glad you came down here Motoko. I was planning on talking to you tomorrow morning and apologizing and all…and…and I wanted to officially ask you out again on another date." Just as he says this, a cloud passes overhead, covering up the moon and instantly darkening up his room. If the cloud hadn't have blocked the light at that moment, he would have seen the amazingly glorious smile that spread across Motoko's lovely face.

"Do…do you mean it? Did you truly enjoy going out with me?"

The cloud moves away, basking his room in the soft moonlight once more. Leaning forward, the Tokyo U student affectionately pokes the samurai girl on her nose, getting a blush in response. "Of course I enjoyed it. You're an amazing young woman Motoko, and I'd love to get to know you better." Keitaro suddenly notices that, from his new position, he can now see down the collar of Motoko's oversized shirt. His eyes widen as he sees that she is not wearing a bra, or chest bindings in her case. 'Oh wow,' he thinks in awe.

The young woman notices his gaze. She quickly leans back, covering her chest with a scowl, but it is soon replaced by a forgiving smile at Keitaro's surprised and apologetic look. 'He is most definitely a male,' she thinks with a near chuckle.

"Sorry," he mutters, his face deep red with embarrassment.

Motoko surprises the young Urashima when she leans in and wraps her arms around him. "I suppose I will let it slide just this once…pervert." The feeling of his silent laughter, added with her feeling of peace of mind quickly lulls the young woman into a nice slumber.

"Um…Motoko?" Keitaro asks after a few moments of silence from the younger woman. "Are you asleep?" The only response he gets is Motoko snuggling her face into the crook of his neck. Shaking his head, Keitaro shifts his position so he is off of his futon. He gently lays the samurai girl onto it, pulling the covers up to her neck. He moves a stray hair away from her face and whispers, "Goodnight Motoko," before getting a spare pillow and blanket out of his closet and leaving his room so he can sleep on the living room couch.

As the landlord begins to feel sleep overtake him on the bottom floor, Motoko sleeps happily in his room. She shifts around a bit in her sleep, moving to her side and digging her face into his pillow, subconsciously inhaling his scent deeply and letting out a sleepy, "_Keitaro_."   
 

**To be continued… **

______ 

**Author's notes**: Well there you have it. Now our dear landlord has asked out both the warrior and the fox. The competition for his attention and affection is going to escalade up to new heights!

In the next chapter, Motoko will leave for a few days for a trip with her kendo club at school. What will Kitsune do with this golden opportunity and just why is Su clinging onto Keitaro like that? Find this out and more next chapter. – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	10. Motoko's Departure

**Love Hina   
  
  
**_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga since I haven't seen any of the anime. I keep on hearing some of the major differences between it and the manga, and it saddens me that they would change the original story so much. It sucks, but I will eventually watch them to see for myself. I promise._   
  
  
**Different Promises   
Chapter 10:   
Motoko's Departure**   
  
  
Keitaro groggily opens his eyes, the bright early morning sunlight waking him up. Grumbling to himself, he gets up from the couch and stretches from side to side, hearing his joints crick and pop as he does so. He looks over at the couch he was just sleeping on, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, that wasn't as comfortable as I thought it was gonna be. I should probably buy a new couch just in case one of the girls decides to fall asleep on it, I don't want any of them to feel like I do right now." Storing it away on his mental 'To Do:' list, he shakes his head, getting himself fully awake before he walks upstairs to his room to get his clothes for the day.

On his way up, he bumps into an equally sleepy looking Shinobu, who is on her way downstairs. "Good morning Shinobu," he kindly greets.

"Oh, good morning sempai," the young girl responds, pausing for a moment to yawn slightly. "What were you doing downstairs so early in the morning?"

Keitaro rubs the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. "Well I was sleeping on the couch. Motoko went in my room last night and we talked for a bit. She then fell asleep and I didn't want to disturb her so I let her sleep on my futon."

The youngest member of the Hinata House holds in her feelings of deep jealousy directed at the samurai girl for getting so close to her sempai. 'I wish I could sleep in sempai's futon…maybe with sempai in it,' she thinks with a heavy blush.

Unfortunately for her, the landlord notices and kneels down so they are eye level. "Are you okay Shinobu, you're looking a little red." He places his hand on her forehead. "You're pretty warm, are you coming down with something?"

Shinobu backs off quickly, her face reddening even more. "N-N-No!" She stammers out. "I'm fine sempai! I really am!" She backs down the steps, trying to make a getaway. "I-I have to make breakfast for everyone so I'll see you in a little bit sempai!"

Keitaro reaches out and rubs the top of her head affectionately, a fond smile on his face. "You know, you're so kind and caring of everyone here. You're a really special young woman Shinobu." He turns around with a wave, heading upstairs.

The young girl feels her knees buckle. "He…he called me a young woman!" she whispers, placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "Oh sempai…"

______ 

Keitaro reaches his door and is about to slide it open when the self-preserving part of his brain sharply reminds him why he was sleeping downstairs on the couch on the first place. Thanking that part of his mind, he knocks on the door lightly and waits for a response. When none comes, he inches the door open and peeks inside. Motoko is sleeping soundly on his futon, her face buried in his pillow. Smiling to himself, the young man creeps inside and past Motoko to his dresser, opening it and grabbing some clothes. He takes off the shirt he is wearing and places it on the floor, unaware that he is being watched.

The young samurai woman awoke the moment Keitaro entered the room, her years of heavy training alerting her to the extra presence coming towards her. She instantly calmed when she recognized Urashima's calm and inviting aura. She turns her head and cracks open an eye as she hears him open his dresser and dig through it. A faint blush graces her cheeks as he removes his shirt, leaving him dressed only on his boxers. Memories of earlier in the previous day when she saw him in a similar state in the shower pop into her head, only last time she didn't get a good look at him before he screamed at both her and Narusegawa to get out. This time, her eyes drink in his lean figure without hesitation. As he puts on a white button up shirt and begins to button it up, she accidentally lets out a small sigh of disappointment. Her eyes widen as she realizes what she just did.

Keitaro pauses as he hears a soft sigh coming from his left. He turns and sees Motoko beginning to sit up, a guilty expression on her face. "Good morning Motoko!" he greets. He then notices the digital clock on his dresser and it is now six o' clock in the morning. A large sweatdrop forms on the back of his head. "Heh, sorry if I woke you up, I was trying to be real quiet. Guess I messed up," he adds, rubbing the back of his head.

"No, you didn't," she begins, slowly getting up and making sure that the oversized shirt she is wearing is covering her appropriately, "I normally awake around this time to meditate before my morning training." The young woman suddenly looks away embarrassedly. "I am sorry for intruding into here like I did last night and bother you with my problems…it's just…" she trails off as Keitaro walks up to her and places a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, you don't need to say you're sorry for anything. Even though I was part of your problems, I'm glad that I could help. I just want you and the rest of the girls to be happy here." He begins to blush lightly. "So now that you're awake, is it okay if you can leave my room so I can finish getting dressed?" Motoko nods once before turning around and leaving. Keitaro's eyes can't help but watch the samurai girl as she leaves, soaking in her long, shapely legs and how much he can see of them while she's in that shirt, almost to the point where her panty clad rear is about to show. The young man quickly shakes his head to get rid of the numerous dirty thoughts. He rushes over to the door and closes it. 'Man, what's gotten into me?' he thinks to himself in surprise. 'I mean, I've always been interested in girls…but never _this_ interested before. Haitani and Shirai would be proud of me,' he adds with a chuckle. He leans over and pulls one of his legs into his pants. "This place is starting to bring out the pervert in me."

______ 

A couple of hours have passed and everybody has awakened and are currently enjoying another delicious breakfast from Shinobu, although almost everyone is distracted by Motoko, who has brought her traveling bag and her sword, which is wrapped up, to the table with her. Kitsune decides to break the ice. "Say Motoko, what's with the stuff ya got there?" Everybody stops eating to look at her, wondering what her response will be. 

The young swordswoman calmly places her chopsticks down onto her plate. "I apologize for bringing this up so suddenly, but I will be leaving in just a little a bit for three days for the kendo club's training camp."

Naru sweatdrops slightly. "You're right, this is really sudden. So the camp's an overnight one?"

"Yes, and I will be leaving as soon as I have changed after I finish my breakfast." She picks her chopsticks back up and begins to eat again. The rest of the group shrugs their shoulders and resumes eating as well, except for Su, who is giving her sleeping companion an odd look.

Kitsune pauses from her meal when she feels a deep shiver run down her spine. 'What the hell was that?' she thinks to herself. 'Oh well,' she begins, a sly smile appearing on her face. 'Now that Motoko's gonna be out of the picture for a few days, I'll have Keitaro all to myself! Now I can finally go out with him and not worry about her sneaking around and stalking us or something.' She takes a sip of her sake. 'You better be ready Keitaro, cause I'm gonna give you the time of your life!'

______ 

A little while later, breakfast is finished and the group splits to go do their own things for the day. Keitaro walks up to Motoko's room and is about to knock on her door when it suddenly opens and the swordswoman emerges, wearing her school uniform. The second she looks at him, she turns her head away in shame. "I am sorry for not telling you of this sooner. It had completely slipped my mind. I only remembered earlier while I was meditating. Please do not be upset with me."

Keitaro rubs the back of his head. "Uh…I actually just wanted to tell you to have fun and have a safe trip."

Motoko blushes slightly, now feeling a bit foolish. "Oh…I…thank you," she replies with a formal bow. She quickly looks around to see if anybody is watching. Satisfied that nobody is, she leans forwards and embraces the young man. "I will miss you."

The landlord tenses for a few moments, but relaxes and returns the hug. "Yeah, I'll miss you too," he replies. They back off one another and make their way downstairs, where everybody else has congregated to say bye to their friend. As the samurai girl kneels down and puts on her shoes, Kitsune walks up to her, a light smile gracing her features. "Don't get me wrong, but isn't camp kinda…high-schoolish?" She leans in and whispers into her ear, "Oh and don't worry about Keitaro, I'll take _real_ good care of him for you!"

The young swordswoman sharply stands up to her full height, which is just about six inches taller then the older woman. "There are two things I want you to remember Konno," she responds in an emotionless, yet quite intimidating voice. "One: I am a high school Sophomore, and Two: if you attempt to do anything morally wrong with him, when I return I will treat you as if you are a vile, perverted male, and you know how I _despise_ them," she finishes with a low hiss.

Kitsune holds in the deep shudder that is longing to come out, knowing all too well that her threat is quite sound…and how painful it will be if she tries anything funny. 'Damn,' her mind grumbles, 'and I had such fun plans in store for him.' She sighs lightly and frowns at the other young woman. "Alright, alright, I won't try anything funny with him…that he doesn't want to do," she adds in a completely inaudible whisper to herself.

Motoko nods once and then grabs her gear, preparing to depart. The rest of the group shouts, "Have a safe trip!" as she raises a hand to wave goodbye. As the group begins to break up, Kitsune notices Su, who is still waving slightly, a lost look on her face. Sudden past memories pop into her mind and her body stiffens up in thought. Thinking quickly, she begins to rush away, grabbing Shinobu and taking her along too. "Time to hide Shinobu!"

"Huh? Why" the younger girl asks, looking very confused.

As they make a hasty getaway inside, Keitaro watches Motoko leave, both of his hands resting on the back of his head. 'It sucks that she's going to be gone,' he thinks to himself, 'but at least it's for only three days.' His eyebrows rise slightly as he senses a presence nearing him. He looks over to his right as Su closes the distance between them, grabbing his arm with an innocent smile. "Um…hi Su," he responds, both he and Naru, who is several feet from him, looking confused as the young foreign girl giggles at him, still holding his arm.

From inside, Kitsune and Shinobu watch, the older looking relieved, yet also disappointed. "Damn, looks like Keitaro's the new victim." She shakes her head slightly. 'And there goes all my fun plans for him,' she mentally adds with a near growl.

Shinobu watches Kitsune, still looking confused. "I don't get it, is there something wrong with Su?"

"You know how Su always needs to latch onto somebody?" She waits for the younger girl to nod before continuing. "Well, being her play partner is really, really difficult. Even I had trouble with her!"

"Oh," Shinobu begins in realization, "now that you mention it, you were Su's play partner before Motoko came, weren't you?"

Kitsune nods slightly. "Yep, I'm the one who taught her Japanese too." She suddenly places a hand on her cheek, blushing deeply. "Physically, Motoko's the only one with the strength to keep up with Su, especially at _night_. Boy, is that rough!" She pauses for a moment as a deep shudder runs down her spine. "Just thinking about it gives me the chills!"

The youngest member of the Hinata House blushes as well, a shocked look on her face. "Huh? At…at _night_?"

______ 

For the next couple of hours, Keitaro goes about his daily duties as landlord, cleaning and inspecting around for anything that needs to be either repaired or replaced. The only thing that is off about this picture is the fact that Su has been staying close to him the entire time, whether she is just holding onto his arms, getting a piggyback ride from him or wrapping her legs around his neck and swinging upside down behind him like a pendulum. Finally, Keitaro's patience wears out. He stops in his tracks, unlatches the young girl's legs from his neck and lifts them high up behind him. As he feels her place her hands on the back of his legs, he lets go and she flips her legs backwards, gracefully landing on her feet with a large smile on her face. The landlord rubs the back of his head. "Um Su, not that its bothering me or anything, but why are you following me around?"

"Cause I like you!" the foreign girl answers with a giggle. "You're fun!"

The young man raises an eyebrow at her strange behavior. "Well I like you too, but now I have to go to my room and tally in the costs for the repairs and the monthly rent for you girls." He starts to walk away, but Su leaps onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a death grip.

"But I wanna stay with you! I promise not to make a peep so come on, please?" The faintest traces of tears appear in the corners of her eyes, which have now retained the puppy dog look. "I _promise_ I won't get in the way of your work! C'mon Keitaro!"

The Tokyo U student's shoulders slump as he sighs deeply. "Alright, okay! Just…don't cry anymore, okay?"

The tears and the sad look instantly vanish and Su begins to giggle, "Okies!" as Keitaro face faults onto the ground.

______ 

Keitaro sits in his room, mulling over several papers, each of which concern money, whether it be for intake or outtake. The first sheet is the basic costs for living, which mainly includes all of the regular utilities. The second sheet has the costs of all of the supplies, daily maintenance and repairs done lately, which is rather large, seeing as how the Hinata House has been in such a bad state of disrepair for quite some time. The final sheet has down all of the girl's names and their monthly rent, which is due soon. The young man tries to concentrate to see how much he will need to withdraw from his newly acquired funds for the dorm for this month, but cannot. The main source why he can't is currently swinging from his ceiling light.

Su, completely against her promise earlier, is making as much noise and a ruckus as humanly possible, probably even more so. The young foreigner, while swinging from his light, kicks down his closet door and mutters, "Oopsie, I broke it," before proceeding to run inside it, tossing clothing and boxes everywhere. From there, she leaps onto his bookshelf and digs through it. "Hmm, no dirty magazines?" she thinks out loud. The young girl then climbs atop of it and looks around. "Wow, this is a pretty clean room!" As she hops off, several books fall to the floor. Su proceeds to rush over to Keitaro and peer over his shoulder. Her eyes lock on her name written down on the paper with everyone else's for the monthly rent dues. "Hey, that's me!"

"Yes Su," the landlord replies, his right eye twitching slightly. "I'm trying to figure out how much everything is going to cost for this month." He suddenly stands up and walks over to the tea sat he has against his wall. He picks up the kettle, frowning as he feels how light it is. "Damn, um, Su? Can you stay in here while I go downstairs and get some water so I can make us some tea?"

The young girl stands rigid, going into a sharp salute. "Aye aye sir!"

Keitaro chuckles at her rambunctious behavior. "I'll be back in just a minute." He takes a few steps out of his door when a petite body flying into him from behind suddenly knocks him forward and the two go tumbling straight for the stairs.

______ 

Down on the main floor, Naru walks out of the kitchen with a small tray of snacks. "Thank you Shinobu," she calls into the kitchen, "these will be perfect for me to snack on while I study."

"You're welcome Naru," the young chef replies, smiling her sweet smile.

As the long haired young woman walks into the living room, she spots Kitsune lounging on the couch, flipping through the channels with the remote control and sipping some of her saké. "What's wrong, no horse races today?"

The fox eyed girl looks up and smirks at her best friend. "No, they were on earlier. I did pretty well this time. I won enough to pay rent for the next couple of months and still have enough to get some nice sake!" she finishes with a large smile. "So you off to study?"

"Yeah," she replies. "The mock placement test is coming up real soon, so I have to study hard and see how good my chances are at making it into Tokyo U."

"Well good luck girl." Kitsune raises her bottle up towards her friend before lowering it back down and taking a sip.

Naru shakes her head with a smile. "Thanks." She then makes her way over to the stairs. 'I can do it!' her mind cheers on. 'I've been studying for the last two years and I've gotten the top scores on the last couple of practice tests. There's no way I can fail!" She is about halfway up to the second floor when a loud ruckus in front of her catches her attention. She looks up and her eyes go wide as she sees both Keitaro and Su tumbling down the stairs, coming straight for her. "Oh sh---mmph!" what she says is cut off as they collide and she becomes part of the human wrecking ball. As they hit the railing, their combined weight proves to be too much for the old thing and it breaks, sending the three young people on a crash course for the floor below.

Kitsune looks up from her programs as she hears all the noise above her. "Hey you guys, could you shut the hell…" she pauses as a large shadow appears overhear, belonging to the three tangled people who are about to fall right on top of her. Her eyes open slightly and she mutters a quick, "Oh," before Keitaro, Su and Naru fall onto her with a tremendous ***SMASH!***

Keitaro is the first to open his eyes and assess the damage. The couch Kitsune was lying on has crumpled under them, meaning he has even more reason to get a new one. Su and Naru are sprawled out on top of him and Kitsune, being quite lucky, rolled a bit to the side before getting hit. She is right next to the landlord, also pinned down by the two younger women on top of her. Keitaro checks where his arms are. His right is wrapped around the top of what's left of the couch. He tries to move his left, but it is stuck under the girls somewhere. Being brave, or quite foolish considering where he is living and his position right now, he moves his fingers a bit, feeling Kitsune tense up next to him. "Whoever's doing that," she begins, "please stop. That really tickles."

"Sorry," Keitaro mutters, but moves his fingers again for good measure, chuckling slightly as a small giggle escapes the fox eyed woman. His body suddenly goes extremely stiff as he feels a hand start to move down where it shouldn't be.

Naru moans softly as she regains consciousness. "Ouch that hurt," she says, her anger pointed towards the extremely nervous young man below her. As she begins to push herself up, she stops as her hand rests on something. "Hey, what's this big thing?" she wonders out loud. Because of her position, she can't see what it is she is holding on to. She adjusts her grip so she is holding it better, not noticing Keitaro below her, who is now trembling from nervousness at his current predicament. "Wow, this is strange," she begins, "it's getting even bigger and real hard!" She hears Kitsune gasp under her, the slightly older woman realizing what's being held onto.

Just then, Su sits up and shakes her head, getting her hair out of her face. "That was fun!" she cheers. "I'm going back up the stairs and wait for you to come up so we can do it again Keitaro!" she giggles as she leaps off the small group and rushes up the stairs.

With the young girl's weight now off of them, Naru begins to get off as well, but now she finally gets to see what she has a very good handful of. Screaming out in surprise, she jumps off of Keitaro and Kitsune, a mortified look on her face. She places a hand over her mouth, but then remembers that that is the hand she was just gripping Keitaro's best friend with. She jumps back again with another scream, holding her hand away from her as if it were poison, too shocked to even say a single word.

Kitsune gets up and angrily makes her way to her friend. Her fingers twitch slightly, just itching to slap her friend. Holding that urge back, she opts to yell at her instead. "Damn it Naru!" she shouts, getting her friend to flinch back in surprise, "could you stop all of this pervy crap! When Keitaro first got here, all you could say about him was how much of a pervert he was, or actually how much of a pervert you thought he was, but if anybody's the pervert here, it's _you_." As the long haired young woman begins to respond, Kitsune holds up a hand to quiet her. "Don't stop me now, I'm on a roll," she begins. "Now Keitaro's a guy, and all guys are gonna have some naughty thoughts and stuff now and then, they can't help it, especially if one's living in an all girl's dorm, but I haven't seen him do anything perverted in any way." She pokes the other girl in the chest, getting her point through more thoroughly. "You were the one who was staring at him naked in the shower and you're the one who was just groping him like there's no tomorrow!" 

After she finishes this, Keitaro, who was beginning to stand up, albeit rather shakily, falls back to the floor, his face flaming from embarrassment. 'Oh God,' he thinks, 'why did she have to remind me of that?!'

Naru tries to cover her face to hide how red she is, but is doesn't work since even her hair has somehow reddened up in her embarrassment and shame. She is about to weakly respond, when a soft whimpering to the side gathers up everyone's attention. Shinobu is standing at the entrance to the living room from the hallway, her hands tightly gripping her apron, tears welling up in her now extreme puppy dog eyes. "Y-You were doing…_bad_ things to sempai?" she says in a barely audible whimper. "How…how could you?" she adds with a large sob before darting through the living room and out the front door.

The young Tokyo U aspirant takes one look at her best friend, who has placed her hands on her hips and still looks upset, and then over to Keitaro, who is too embarrassed to even look her way. With a sigh, Naru takes off after the young chef in hopes to calm her down. The landlord's tenseness instantly leaves as Naru leaves the Hinata House. He begins to walk towards the stairs, in hopes of going to his room and trying to forget everything that has just occurred, when a hand on his shoulder stops him. "You're not getting away that easily buddy," Kitsune begins, trying to sound stern but coming off more as playful.

Keitaro turns around, his body tensing in preparation for being either hit or yelled at, or one then the other. After a few tense moments, nothing happens. He slowly cracks open an eye to see what is going on, and notices that Kitsune is still standing a little in front of him, not looking like she is getting ready to hit him. With a sigh of relief, his body relaxes, quite foolishly not witnessing the sly smile spread across the young woman's face. Without warning, she grabs his arm and proceeds to drag him towards the stairs. "K-Kitsune!" he begins, "what are you doing?"

Her plain response is, "You owe me."

"Uh…what for?"

The fox eyed girl stops dragging him along for a moment to turn around and look him straight in the eye. "We have have kissed once or twice, but when it comes to the more fun things, Naru's now got two over me, and I intend to change that right now," she finishes while licking her lips seductively.

Keitaro's eyes widen and he begins to pull away from the slightly younger woman to escape, but strangely enough, she is keeping him in place. "Come on!" he whines, his voice trembling slightly. "Don't fool around like this Kitsune! It's not funny!"

Kitsune then pulls the landlord very close, her breasts squishing up against him and instantly making him sweat. "I'm not fooling around with you," she says, her voice a bit deeper and sexier than normal, "at least, not yet."

All current activity in Keitaro's brain comes to a screeching halt after this, a deep shiver running down his spine, as well as a jolt of activity from his '_buddy_' downstairs. "Um…uh…Kitsune, I'm not too sure that we should…we shouldn't do anything. I-I don't think I'm ready yet."

"Don't worry," she begins with a small smile, "I'll be gentle…unless you want to get a little rough," she adds, her smile turning quite foxy. She then continues to drag the young man upstairs, intending to go to her room. 

As they reach the top, a loud, "Yay! Here I come!" snaps Keitaro out of his daze as both he and the fox eyed girl turn to see the source of the voice. Their eyes simultaneously widen as they see Su rushing at them from the landlord's room, intending on repeating their earlier tumble down the stairs.

"No! Su! DON'T DO IT!" … ***SMASH!***  
  
  
**To be continued…**

______ 

**Author's notes**: Heh, this has been the longest delay in updates for this chapter so far. Sorry, but I was trying to focus on some of my other ones that I haven't updated in nearly two months. I was sitting on this for nearly three weeks with no good brainstorms. I had a few pages done, but nothing else was coming for a while. I'm probably gladder to get this done and posted then all of you loyal readers are to read it. Like I've said in almost all of my recent updates, I'm working a lot more now Monday-Friday and I'm usually pretty drained when I get home, but I will continue to write as the ideas keep coming and I get more inspiration from all of you people who are glad to read my work.

Oh, and I'm guessing that some of you might have noticed that I tried to bring in some of Keitaro's personality, well the personality that we know and feel pity for in the manga and anime. I went through some of the previous chapters and noticed that at times I did make him a bit suave, something I was trying _not_ to do. I'm not going back to fix them or anything, but I will be more careful to try to watch what I'm making him do or say in my later chapters.

Poor Keitaro, he never has it easy does he? With Motoko gone for a few days, Kitsune has now upped her flirtatious personality a lot more so she can be the predominant woman in the young landlord's heart, although Su constantly hanging around will put a major rehashing on her plans. What will the foxy lady try now? – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com**


	11. Changes in Motion

**Love Hina  
  
**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga since I haven't seen any of the anime. Well I keep on getting more bills so my time to purchase and watch the anime has been delayed a bit, but I will get to them as soon as I can. I promise._

Different Promises  
Chapter 11:  
Changes in Motion   
  
Keitaro lies down on his futon in his room, his face heavily flushed. His breathing has finally calmed down a bit, but it isn't completely back to normal. Shinobu is kneeling down beside him, wringing out a cold washcloth before she places it on his forehead. "Are you alright sempai?" she meekly asks, worried at his odd state. "What happened to you after I left? Why were you passed out and so red?"

As soon as she says this, the washcloth begins to sizzle and steam as Keitaro's body temperature rapidly increases in remembrance of the events that transpired shortly after young Shinobu ran out of the Hinata House and Naru quickly followed after her…

**_oooooo _**

Keitaro freezes on the spot as he sees Su running energetically at him and Kitsune, preparing to tackle one or both of them down the stairs like she just did a little bit ago. The young foreigner leaps off of the ground, extending her right foot in preparation to strike. What she does not expect is for Kitsune to suddenly pull both herself and Keitaro down to the floor just milliseconds before they collide. Su's momentum carries her over the railing and she comes to a brief pause in midair, which gives her enough time to mutter out an, "Oopsie, I missed," before she plummets to the ground. The young girl bounces safely onto the broken couch, not getting hurt in the slightest bit. She hops to her feet and rushes off, whereabouts: unknown.

The young landlord stands up and looks over to the spot where Su disappeared, rubbing the back of his head. "Jeeze that was close! Thanks Kit…" he trails off as he notices the look the slightly younger woman is giving him. "Uh…Kitsune? What's with the funny loo…" he once again is unable to finish, this time by the fox eyed woman, who grabs him by the collar of his shirt and drags him into her room, closing and locking the door behind them.

Kitsune tosses Keitaro down onto her soft, plushy futon and lies on top of him, a _very_ seductive smile spreading across her pretty features. She places her right hand on his left cheek, caressing it gently. "You know I thought I had all you guys figured out," she softly begins, her eyes not leaving his, "and then you come along…and toss pretty much everything I've ever known and thought into the trash." She closes the distance between them and gives the young man a soft kiss on the lips. He is about to return the kiss when she pulls back again, her smile fading a bit. "You've been spending a lot of time with Motoko, a lot more than I'd like you to." She chuckles slightly. "I'm actually jealous of Motoko, the self proclaimed 'man hater'. I never thought that would ever happen…especially over a guy." She leans in again, her face dangerously close to his. "And Naru…she's not even interested in you and she's gotten to see you naked and got a real good handful of your…manliness."

The young man turns his head to the side as he flushes heavily in remembrance of those two events. "You…you know, none of those were my fault!" he stammers out. "I didn't mean for any of that to happen!"

"I know," Kitsune quickly replies, "I just like watching you sweat." She lets out a hearty laugh as Keitaro grumbles under his breath. She reaches back down and caresses the side of his face gently. "You're quite a looker, ya know that?" Before he can get a chance to respond, the fox-eyed woman leans in and gives him a quick kiss on the lips again. "You still owe me a date hot stuff, and until I get one, I'd like some collateral.

"Collateral?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean by that Kitsune?"

The young woman pauses for a moment, thinking of Motoko's threat before she left. 'Eh, what she doesn't know won't hurt her,' she thinks with a devious smile

Keitaro's eyes go extremely wide as the young woman sitting on top of him grabs the bottom of her orange sleeveless turtleneck and lifts it over her head, taking it off and tossing it aside. 'N-No bra?' his mind squeaks as he stares at her large bare breasts, his entire body going stiff as a board.

"You're so cute and innocent Keitaro," she begins, shaking her chest back and forth slightly, "I'm gonna have _so_ much fun corrupting you". A giggle escapes her as she watches him desperately try to look anywhere but her upper torso. She reaches down under his shirt and slides her hands up his chest, her smile widening as she feels his toned muscles again. 'I forgot how fit he is,' she thinks to herself. She pulls her hands back and grabs the collar of his shirt and in one quick motion, tears it open, his buttons flying all over the room. The young woman leans down onto Keitaro, a deep shiver running down her spine at the great feeling of bare skin against bare skin. Kitsune then tilts her head up and kisses the Tokyo U student passionately, her hands on each side of his face.

Keitaro loosens up and is quick to respond, kissing back in full and placing his hands on her waist. 'This feels _really_ good,' he thinks while an important decision maker in the male life comes to life, also agreeing with the thought. 'Oh no, not now!'

The young woman stops kissing him and pulls back slightly, a light blush adorning her face. "Well I'm glad I have that kind of effect on you." Moving slowly, seductively, her right hand works its way down his face and chest. Her foxy grin widens as she notices his breathing begin to increase as her hand keeps its descent down his body. 'I'm guessing he hasn't been with a woman before,' her mind ponders. She feels a shiver of anticipation run down her spine. 'Oh this is gonna be even more fun that I thought!' Without wasting anymore time, she scoots back slightly and reaches down into his pants, firmly gripping him while he squeaks out in surprise.

"K-K-Kitsune!" Keitaro manages to stammer. As he tries to say something else, he finds that he is rendered momentarily speechless. 'I…wha…damn it!' his mind screams in frustration. 'I can't get anything out…but…but this feels _sooo_ good,' he adds with an outward moan. 'I don't want her to stop but…' he trails off with another moan.

Above him, the young woman's grin fades, her mouth opening slightly as well as her normally squinting eyes. A heavy blush adorns her lovely face. She breathes out a hushed, "Oh…Oh **wow**!" and feels her own body reacting to the moment. 'Naru _definitely_ wasn't lying!' she thinks with a rush. She suddenly leans down without letting him go and catches his lips in a furious kiss, her tongue prying its way into his mouth and exploring within. She suddenly pulls back, looking him directly in the eyes. "Keitaro," she slowly begins, "do you…do you want to take this to the next level?"

The landlord's heavy breathing suddenly stops at her words, his mind finally working properly. With a large sigh, he reaches down and pulls Kitsune's hands out of his pants. At her crestfallen look, he says, "Look Kitsune, I really like you and all and I like what you were doing…I _really_ liked it," he adds with a strained expression while she giggles again, "but I don't want to rush anything between us." He sighs once more. "That and I also like Motoko too. I…I just don't know what to do right now. I'm so confused."

The young woman sits back up, an understanding look now spreading across her face. "Alright, I guess I'll hold off of you for now," she slowly begins, "but before you go…" she grabs his hands and firmly places them on her breasts and then leans down and kisses him with everything she's got. After several heated moments, she backs off, licking her lips with a small smile. Kitsune gets to her feet, not bothering to cover herself up. She reaches down and helps the young man to his feet and gives him a quick peck on the cheek and leans in close to his ear. "If you ever do change your mind," she says in a deep, husky voice that causes the hairs on the back of his neck to stand straight up, "you know where to find me." She shoves him rather unceremoniously out of her room and closes and locks the door, her face now taking a disappointed scowl. She mutters, "Damn him! He got me all in the mood and now I gotta take care of business myself!" as she plops down onto her futon and unbuttons her khaki shorts. As a hand slides down inside, she thinks, 'Pretty soon Kei baby, you'll be begging me for this!'

**_oooooo _**

Keitaro rushes into his room and closes his door, negligently forgetting to lock it behind him. He grabs a box of tissue, unbuttons and pulls down his pants and sits down in the middle of his room. 'If I stayed in there any longer, I would've lost it!' his mind squeaks. 'Kitsune can be so…forward when she wants something!'

**_oooooo _**

Meanwhile downstairs, the front door opens and both Naru and Shinobu walk in, the younger of the two looking a lot calmer than she was earlier. Naru puts a hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. "Again Shinobu, I'm really sorry about earlier, it wasn't my fault." She sighs lightly. "And there's nothing going on between Keitaro and me. He's an okay guy…I guess," she adds with a shrug, getting a giggle from the girl next to her, "but I'm not interested in him in any way…at all." After she says this, Naru feels a deep pang in her chest. She quickly turns around and places a hand over her heart, looking confused. 'Wha-what was that?' she thinks to herself. She jumps up a bit as a hand hesitantly rests onto her shoulder.

"Oh! I'm sorry for startling you Naru!" Shinobu quickly apologizes. "Are…you okay?"

"Yes…I'm fine," the older girl responds, running a hand through her hair, "I just felt a bit funny for a second. I think I'm studying a bit too hard, maybe a nice relaxing soak in the hot springs will help," she cheerfully adds, giving Shinobu another smile before trotting up to her room.

She reaches the second floor and pauses, looking at the door to the landlord's room. 'I…I guess I should apologize for what happened earlier.' With slightly rosy cheeks, she walks to the door and slides it open, saying, "Keitaro, look abou…" but trails off with a furious blush as she sees the young man in the middle of some important business. For a few moments, the two people remain perfectly still, both wide eyed and red faced. Naru, not tearing her gaze away, slowly closing the door back up. "Uh…um…y-you might want to lock your door next time," her voice squeaks on the other side. The sounds of her running away resounds throughout the room.

Keitaro pulls his pants back up and calmly gets to his feet. Suddenly, steam begins to pour from his ears and he falls over backwards, unconscious from both shock and embarrassment. A few minutes later, a tentative knock resounds from outside. After a few seconds, the door slowly slides open and Shinobu's voice asks, "Sempai, are you in there?" As the young girl slides the door open the rest of the way, she spots Keitaro's unconscious body collapsed on the floor. "Sempai!"

**_oooooo _**

The young landlord sits up from his futon, taking the washcloth off of his forehead. He turns his head to the left and smiles warmly at the young girl watching him hesitantly. "Thanks for helping me feel better Shinobu, you've been a big help." He reaches over and affectionately ruffles her hair, getting a glorious blush in response.

The young girl covers her cheeks with her hands, desperately trying to hide her blush. "Oh! You…you don't need to thank me sempai!" she shyly begins. "You've done so much around here to make our lives better! I-I just want to help you back, even if it's only a little bit!"

Keitaro smiles warmly at her, causing her heart to flutter rapidly in her chest. "Shinobu," he softly says, "you help out more than anyone else living here, myself included," before she can respond, he quickly adds, "and don't say you don't! You do all the cooking, almost all the laundry, you're the best thing to ever step foot in the Hinata House! Personally, I've gotten so hooked on your incredible cooking that I can barely stand eating anywhere else."

Shinobu's blush gets, if physically possible, even redder. "T-Thank you sempai," she meekly replies. The young girl stands up and quickly stumbles out of his room, muttering, "Well, I think I should start doing some of the laundry…"

The Tokyo U student chuckles under his breath. "She can be so cute sometimes." Keitaro gets up off of his futon and starts straightening up his room. Just as he finishes, a knock comes on the other side of his door. "Come in," he says and the door opens to reveal Narusegawa, looking both hesitant and lightly flushed. The young man instantly tenses, his mind instantly thinking on which escape route is better, rushing past Naru through his door, or leaping out the balcony behind him.

"Look, there's a few things we need to discuss," she flatly states. She notices his eyes darting back and forth from the door to the window. Her face begins to look frustrated, but she quickly shakes it off, giving him a soft expression. "Please?" she pleads. "It's really important."

Keitaro warily studies her for a few seconds, trying to determine if there's any truth to her words. Satisfied, he nods lightly and sits down by his desk. "Fine," the young man sighs, "you can stay in here."

"Thanks," Naru replies while awkwardly walking around the landlord's room, not sure where to start. She takes in a deep breath and begins, "First off, I think you should apologize for everything that you've been doing."

"Well I…what?" he asks, almost face faulting at Naru's odd request. "Everything _I_ did?" His abnormally large tolerance level, which has taken several deep hits today, has finally begun to wane. "What the hell did I do? If I'm not mistaken, I believe you were the one walking in on me, staring at me and grabbing me…uh…down there," he finishes with a subtle blush.

The younger girl begins to look frustrated, though she also has taken on a flush. "Yeah, you know you should be more careful around here, being a guy in an all girl's dormitory…"

"A place I own," Keitaro quickly adds in, crossing his arms at the difficult Tokyo U aspirant.

Narusegawa stomps towards him, poking the young man roughly in the chest. "I don't give a damn who owns this place, the fact of the matter is…" again, the Urashima male cuts her off.

"Me owning this place _is_ the fact of the matter," he angrily states. He walks over to his desk and pulls out a small stack of official looking papers. "You see this?" he begins, waving the papers in front of the young woman's face. "This says that I own the Hinata House, not you, me." With a quick toss behind him, the papers neatly land on top of his desk. "Me owning this place means that what I say goes, and none of you can control me so unless you want to get kicked out of the Hinata House permanently, I suggest you drop this topic…and stop being such a bitch." Inwardly, he cringes after saying this. 'Damn, I shouldn't have been so mean to her,' he thinks with a deep pang of regret. 'I think I'd better apologize.' He looks up and starts to say, "Look Naru, I'm so…" but trails off at the fierce battle aura that has sprouted from the young woman.

"H-How dare you call me that," she hisses out, her entire body trembling in rage. "You want to see me as a bitch?" Naru raises up her right hand, which is balled up into a tight fist. "Well I'll show you!" With all her might, she throws a 'Super Naru Punch' towards the landlord, only to have it intercepted effortlessly by his left palm. Astonished, she looks up at his face, feeling her anger grow in that he isn't even appearing tired in the least way, not after taking her strongest punch in stride.

"I don't condole people using violence to solve problems…or run away from them. Besides, physical pain is only skin deep, it can heal. Words can be much more powerful than any physical blow Naru, my sensei taught me that." He releases her hand and turns around. "Please leave now, I have no more business with you."

Something stirs deep within the young woman. Never before in her entire life has a man stood up to her and shown her such force in both will and strength and complete control at the same time. She has had plenty of men hit on her in her lifetime, but she has never met someone like him. 'Well someone similar,' she thinks with a light flush, remembering Seta and the amazing crush she had on the older man. 'Keitaro sorta reminds me of him…only younger.' Without warning, she suddenly leans in and catches his lips with hers.

Keitaro's eyes widen at the kiss and as he is pushed back, both of them falling onto the floor. 'Wha…what is happening?!' he thinks in shock. He slowly wraps his arms around her, despite himself. 'She's…a really good kisser.'

'Mmmm…this is nice,' her mind purrs. 'I could get used to this.'

'I…well…wow,' he thinks quite intelligently. Images of Motoko and Kitsune flash through his mind and he suddenly tosses Naru off of him rather unceremoniously. "I-I'm sorry about that, but I just can't do any of this with you. I…I barely know you and I'm already interested in both Motoko and Kitsune. I can't just betray them like this."

"Why not?" she innocently asks, getting back up and crawling towards him, a not too innocent look in her eyes. She grabs his collar and pulls him in for another kiss, but the young man is quick to stop her. "What's wrong?" she demands, now scowling slightly. "Is something wrong with me?"

"No! No, of course not!" he quickly replies. "It's just…" he sighs deeply. "Naru, you're a very attractive young woman, and I'm sure plenty of guys would love to go out with you…I'm just not one of them." He turns his head away in slight shame. "I'm sorry."

The long haired woman sadly backs up, knowing that she has lost to him in more ways than one. Her feelings of passion for the young man warp into bitter anger. 'I'll teach him to turn me down,' she thinks to herself, 'but how?' Just then, Keitaro's words from earlier echo in her mind and she decides to try her luck. "Oh by the way," she slowly begins, her voice sounding unusually steady, "I just wanted to know one more thing."

Keitaro sighs heavily. "Okay." He turns around so he can face her politely. "What is it?"

"Who is Kanako?"

The entire atmosphere inside the landlord's room instantly changes after these three simple little words. Naru shivers slightly as the room temperature drops a bit. 'What the hell is going on?'

The Urashima looks at the young woman, his eyes wide and confused. "Wh-Where did you hear that name?" he quietly asks while his breathing increases.

Realizing that she is getting somewhere, Naru continues on. "I heard you mention it the first night you were here," she comments with a shrug.

"Y-You were spying on me?"

"No, not really. I was keeping an eye on you, since you are nothing more than a pervert who got lucky enough to steal the deed to this place."

Keitaro looks at her, unsure what to think. "I'm not a pervert, and I'm not a thief."

"Well then who's this Kanako?" She inwardly smiles at his pained expression. 'Words do hurt more.' Deciding to up the ante, she adds, "and why have you cried her name out while you sleep?"

The landlord's entire body freezes. "I…do?" He looks down, completely stunned. 'I thought I stopped doing that years ago,' he thinks to himself.

Naru is now smiling widely. "Yeah, you do. So what, is she some dumb girl you molested before you got here, or did you somehow trick her into going out with you and she dumped you and now you're all hung up on her? How pathetic."

Keitaro suddenly snaps his head up and Naru flinches at him. It's not the expression on his face that is frightening her, but his eyes, which have lost all their warmth and compassion, only to be replaced by pure, unadulterated anger. "Don't you _dare_ insult her," he says in a deadly whisper. "She was twice the woman you could ever hope to be." He points to the door. "I want you out of here now, and I don't just mean my room," he adds. At her confused look, he finishes, "as of this moment, you are evicted from the Hinata House, and are banned from ever stepping foot near here ever again."

Narusegawa opens and closes her mouth several times, too stunned at the moment. "You…you can do that…"

"I can, and I have. Naru Narusegawa no longer lives here anymore." He inhales deeply and calms down a bit. "Now I'm giving you an hour to get your things, say your goodbyes, and leave."

Tears flow freely from the anger challenged girl. "Please don't do this," she pleads. "I've lived here for over two years. I'm comfortable and happy here and I have so many friends. Where will I go now?"

Keitaro turns around and walks out to his balcony, gazing at the vast scenery before him. "You should have thought of that before you opened your mouth."

By now, Naru has fallen to her knees, too weak to stand on her own. "Please…please let me stay Keitaro. I-I didn't mean anything by what I said…I was just messing around!" Her poor attempt to brush off her harsh words goes by unnoticed. "Please…I'm sorry."

"So am I," he quietly responds, "now get out of my room and get prepared to leave."

The young woman nods sadly, slowly getting up to her feet. She steps out of his room and slides the door shut. Just before it closes all the way, she whispers, "I never meant any of those mean things about you…or Kanako…whoever she is," she adds in an undertone to herself.

As soon as the door closes, Keitaro walks back into his room, collapses onto his rolled up futon and starts to cry.

To be continued…   
  
**_oooooo _**

**Author's notes**: Well hello there! Been a long time, hasn't it? …Yeah, I suck, I know. Well, like I've said on my most recent updates, I've been struggling for ideas to come. I think they start to come back, but it just turns out to be a tease. I'm actually getting a good mindset on where this is going, so hopefully I can keep this going.

Well on Love Hina news, I'm sure none of you were expecting this now were you? Truthfully neither was I until I started to write this stuff down. Well on the next chapter, Naru's gonna leave Hinata House forever, but will a small talk with Haruka change everything? Find out next chapter. – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: 


	12. The Past Awakens

**Love Hina  
**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga. It's an AU from the very beginning so some of the characters may act differently than what they did in the books. I know this chapter has taken a while to post, but with all the fics I work on, its hard to keep good ideas constantly coming in, but I will work hard to do better. I promise.  
_

**Different Promises  
Chapter 12:  
The Past Awakens  
**

Naru, along with the rest of her friends and former tenants stand in the front room of the Hinata House, all getting ready to say their goodbyes to the recently evicted young woman. Shinobu, for her part, cries enough to cover for everyone else, not wanting to see her friend leave. Su, her simple innocence shining through, doesn't quite understand everything that is going on, thinking that Naru is just going away for a few days on a trip and will be back soon, like what Motoko did this morning.

Kitsune pulls her friend away from the two younger girls, unsure what to think at the moment. "What'd you do girl?" she asks. "Keitaro's been here for like two months now and I've never even seen him get peeved at anything. What'd you say to push his buttons the wrong way?"

"I-I don't think I should say anymore…" the long haired young woman softly replies, a stray tear escaping her eyes, "I've already done enough stupid things already. I should've kept my mouth shut right from the start…but I was so angry with him. He-He turned me down…that's never happened before. I just…I just wanted to make him pay…but I went overboard." She sniffs loudly, another tear falling from her eyes.

The Tokyo U aspirant's best friend backs up a step, her entire body now tense. "You came on to him?" The jealousy clearly heard in her voice makes Naru cringe. "Why the hell did you do that? You know how I feel about him."

Naru lowers her head, not wanting to look her friend in the eye. "I don't know. When he was talking to me earlier…he reminded me so much of Seta…I-I just acted without thinking." She pauses for a moment to sniff again. "I'm sorry Ki…Mitsune, I'm so sorry. I know how much you like him. I didn't mean to steal him away from you."

'Like you did with pretty much with any guy I've ever liked,' Kitsune thinks with a near scowl. "Look girl, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is whatever the hell you said that pissed him off so much to evict you." The seriousness in her voice attracts the attention of both Su and Shinobu, who have never heard the fox eyed woman ever sound so solemn…ever. They both cautiously approach the older two women.

"Yes," the youngest girl adds with a small sniffle, "what did you say to sempai?"

"What she said," a cool voice from above begins, "is just between her and me at the moment." All the girls look up and see Keitaro, who's face is hidden in the shadows. "I'm sorry ladies, but I don't want to be reminded of what she said right now, so Naru please just get everything you need to get done finished so we can get back on with our lives." He turns around and walks away, the girls never seeing the tears going down his face.

"Sempai," Shinobu whispers under her breath, her lower lip trembling ever so slightly.

Su stares up at the spot where the landlord was just standing, not really sure what to make of his words. 'Keitaro seemed…different,' she thinks to herself. 'I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he wasn't smiling or happy at all. Maybe I should go up and talk to him…that would also give me the chance to bring my things to his room for the night,' she adds with a cheerful smile. The young foreign girl reaches over and pulls Naru into a crushing bear hug, forcing all the air out of her lungs and possibly bruising a few ribs too. "Bye bye Naru! Seyas later and come back soon!" She leaps several feet away and runs up the stairs, a carefree smile on her face.

Naru smiles weakly. "Well at least someone is taking this whole thing a lot better then I am." Her smile quickly fades away as she turns back to Kitsune and Shinobu. "I really don't want to leave you guys…but I don't have a choice." She sniffs loudly. "Maybe this is for the best right now." She closes her eyes as the two present tenants pull her into a large group hug.

"Don't say that girl," Kitsune whispers, feeling tears begin to form in her eyes as well. "We'll get you back here soon. This is Keitaro we're talking about. I don't think he could stay mad at you forever, he's just too damn sweet to do something like that."

Shinobu nods furiously in Naru's side. "Yes, I…I will talk to sempai later and try to get him to change his mind. We-we're like family here…you can't just leave."

The Tokyo U aspirant nods slightly. "Alright, you guys do that. I'm going back home to my parents. I called them a little bit ago so they're expecting me." She releases her two friends and backs up, her eyes shining with tears. "Well…I guess this is goodbye so…goodbye." With a bow, she grabs her bags and makes her trek down the long stone steps of the Hinata House.

The two tenants still outside watch as their friend slowly disappears out of their lives for the moment. Kitsune places a hand on the emotional young girl's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Don't worry Shinobu," she begins, her face unusually grave, "she'll be back, and don't worry about talking to Keitaro, I'll have a chat with him and see if I can talk some sense into that thick skull of his."

Shinobu giggles slightly. "Okay, but make sure he promises to let Naru back here."

The fox eyed girl nods in response, thinking, 'I will, and I'll find out exactly what the hell Naru said to get him so worked up…one way or another.'

* * *

A couple of floors up, Su bursts into the Landlord's Room, shouting, "Heyas Keitaro! Why didn't you go and say byes to Na…" but trails off as she notices that she's the only one in the room. "Keitaro? Where'd you go?" The young foreigner starts to search around Keitaro's room in search of him, looking under his futon, behind his dresser and every little nook and cranny she can think of while tossing around everything in her way.

Several minutes and one very dirty room later, Su leaves the landlord's room with a light frown on her normally cheerful face. "Hmm…how did he get out?" she wonders out loud. "I woulda heard him if he came downstairs, some of those steps are really squeaky." The hyperactive girl reaches behind her and pulls out a detective cap, putting it on her head. "Dis looks like a case for Detective Su!"

* * *

Naru silently walks down the old stone steps, her mind replaying her conversation with Keitaro earlier…the one that got her evicted. She is about halfway down when someone appears in front of her, emerging from the forest on her right. Her eyes widen as she quickly realizes that it Keitaro, though he is currently facing away from her. "Look," he bluntly begins, still not turning to look at her, "I didn't mean to explode on you like that, it…it's not something I usually ever do. You just touched…well it's more like you pounded on a very sensitive subject to me." He pauses for a moment to look up at the sky while scratching his cheek. "I'm not mad at you, I'm just upset that you spoke so much about something that you know nothing about."

The Tokyo U aspirant drops the bags on her shoulders and rubs her arm uncomfortably, not sure what to say. 'He's right again,' she thinks to herself, her head drooping slightly. 'Damn it! How'd I mess things up so badly? All I wanted…was to be happy with someone…someone like him.'

"You're…not evicted." Naru's head shoots up in shock. "My decision was brash, stupid and made when I wasn't thinking clearly…I should never had made it."

"I…I've got most of my stuff here with me," she softly replies, "and I called my parents already. They're expecting me to come home today."

Keitaro nods in understanding. "Yeah, that's actually for the better right now. You're not kicked out of the Hinata House, but I'm not quite ready to be around you right now…I'm still pretty tense about earlier." He sighs lightly. "I was going to see if Haruka would let you stay with her, but going to your parents' works out better for you. If you have a little extra time, go to Haruka and talk to her…maybe afterwards you'll learn to watch what you say." Without another word, he turns and walks back into the forest, still intent on distancing himself from the temperamental young woman.

Tears begin to falls from Naru's eyes again, only these are tears of happiness and relief. "Thank you," she mutters before hoisting her bags back up and continuing her walks down the stone steps, now planning on making a pit stop at the Café Hina.

* * *

Back up at the Hinata House, Keitaro clumsily climbs a tree just outside his room, trying to get back inside without alerting all the tenants inside. He stops on a branch closest his room for a quick breather, wiping the sweat off of his brow. "Man," he sighs, "it was a lot easier getting out of my room than it is getting in!" Suddenly the distance between his balcony and the branch he is standing on looks a lot larger than it looked a little bit earlier, and even then he almost didn't make it across, he luckily managed to grab onto a branch just before he fell. "I can't believe how stupid this idea is! I could've fallen and gotten seriously hurt!" For some reason, he feels a slight snort of amusement in the back of his mind, but dismisses it as nothing.

Listening to the more logical part of his brain, the landlord starts to climb down the tree. He is just a couple of feet down when the branch he is holding onto cracks loudly. Time slows down as he watches the limb break off from the tree. Keitaro's eyes widen as he falls backwards, she sky directly coming above coming into his vision. He lets out a small grunt as he hits the earth, the fall somehow being a lot easier on his body than he expected. He is about to get up when his senses alert him to someone coming near. Closing his eyes, the Tokyo U student focuses on the person's aura, quickly deciphering that it is Mitsune. With a sigh, he raises an arm and waves it around. "I'm right here."

Kitsune walks directly over to Keitaro and stands next to his head, smirking slightly. "Nice place for a rest." As the landlord rubs the back of his head with a sheepish grin in response, Kitsune's smirk fades, being replaced with a serious expression. She moves to his middle and sits down on his stomach with her elbows resting on his upper chest, her face resting in her hands. She feels a small victory in the fact that he didn't flinch when she sat on him and that he's not trying to get her off of him, given the somewhat romantic position they're in. "Look stud, we've gotta talk…now. I've got a lot of questions, and you've got the answers."

"Answers to what?" he asks, feigning stupidity in hopes it will throw her off.

Unfortunately for him, Kitsune is too clever to fall for his trick. "You know what I'm talking about," she responds, moving her hand off of her face to poke him roughly in the chest. "Naru did or said something to push you in all the wrong places and as both her best friend and fellow tenant, I wanna know exactly what she did." She smirks slightly. "I'm very good at finding out information, so whether or not you tell me, I will find out. I just wanted to be nice to you first and not be sneaky about this, since I like you so much."

Keitaro sighs again, but nods slowly. "Alright, I guess I can tell you a few things…but I don't want you telling anyone else, okay?"

The eldest tenant leans in dangerously close, her face almost touching his. "Baby, my lips are sealed."

* * *

Naru slowly enters the Café Hina, shifting her luggage around so she can get in without having to drop anything. She takes a couple of steps inside and quickly halts, coming face to face with Haruka, who looks unusually upset and tense. "Stay right here," she firmly commands. "I've gotta take care of the last customer, then we _really_ need to talk."

The younger woman visibly gulps at the dangerous tone Haruka is using, but doesn't move a muscle. 'I have the feeling that I'm in serious trouble,' she thinks as a few beads of sweat from on her face.

Haruka escorts the last customer out of her café with a light wave as he goes, glancing at the quickly darkening sky for a brief moment. She closes the door, locks it to prevent and means of escape and swiftly turns around, staring Naru down for a brief moment before slapping the younger girl hard across the face. "Now you really crossed the line," she hisses, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Keitaro called me earlier and we had a little chat. He had some very interesting things to say, very interesting."

Naru is about to open her mouth to say something when Haruka roughly grabs the front of her shirt and shoves her back into a seat directly behind her. "Sit down and shut up. It'd be really smart for you to let me have my word. I promised Keitaro that I wouldn't do anything drastic to you…but I'm a _very_ pissed off woman right now, so keep in line and I won't do anything…drastic." She lights a cigarette and inhales several times, letting the nicotine help cool her down a bit. Her eyes narrow at Naru as the young woman nervously raises her hand straight up in the air, asking permission to speak. "Yes?"

"I-I just have a question I want to ask…one that's been bugging me for some time now: who is Kanako…and why is she so important to Keitaro?" To her surprise, Haruka smiles after she asks her question.

The older woman walks to the counter and reaches behind it, pulling out a large clear bottle with reddish brown liquid in it down on the table, followed by two cups and two cans of soda. "I'm glad you asked me that question, so now I can get straight to the point."

She looks up as Haruka walks over to her and places the items on the table in front of her. Upon closer inspection, she realizes that the large bottle has American writing on the black label of the bottle. "Wh-what is that stuff?"

"A drink I found out about when I was traveling with some friends several years ago," she calmly answers, her face still grave. "This…isn't exactly an easy thing for me to talk about, but this will help get everything out a little easier." She opens both drinks and mixes them together in both cups, grabbing one and taking a large drink from it. "This brings back memories…not all of them nice."

* * *

Keitaro slides open the door to his room and turns on the light, cringing at the destruction inside. "What the hell happened here?"

"Looks like Su finally decided to explore your room," Kitsune replies, walking in after the landlord. "She's done it to everyone here at least once. She never does any major damage to anything so we just let her have her fun. At least it keeps her occupied for a little while." A sly smile spreads across her face as she reaches behind her back and pulls out a bottle of saké and two small saucers. "Now hurry and clean up so I can have a place to sit and drink." The young man gives her a patronizing look, and gets a wink and a mild giggle in return. "Come on now stud, I don't have all day." She then blows a kiss at Keitaro, smiling widely at his slowly reddening face.

The Tokyo U student mumbles, "Women," under his breath while cleaning up around his table. After a couple of minutes, he has the table all set up and ready for he and Kitsune to sit down, drink and discuss a few things. "So," he calmly begins, politely pouring the fox-eyed girl a drink first before him, "where do I begin?"

"Just tell me exactly what happened earlier between you and Naru and we'll work from there."

So for the next ten minutes or so, Keitaro tells Kitsune everything that occurred after the young temperamental girl came in his room. He takes a large chug of saké, his cheeks lightly flushed from the effects of the alcohol. "So that's what happened."

The eldest tenant leans back on her spot at the table, digesting all the info she just heard. 'Damn Naru,' she thinks, shaking her head sadly, 'the second she loses her temper, she ups and totally screws herself over…though there is one thing I don't understand.' Kitsune leans forward, opening her eyes to look directly at the landlord. "If everything you just told me is true, then tell me…who is Kanako? Why did you snap when Naru insulted her?" She leans back in surprise as Keitaro suddenly looks right up at her, pain and sorrow practically pouring from his eyes. "Keitaro?"

He takes a deep breath, cradling the cup in his hands. "K-Kanako…"

* * *

"Kanako is…was Keitaro's little sister."

Naru's eyes widen in shock. "His…sister? Oh my God! No wonder he got pissed when I said that she…wait," the young woman pauses as she just realizes something, "what did you mean by 'was' his sister?" she feels a deep sense of dread grow inside of her at how emotional Haruka currently looks.

The café owner takes a long chug from her drink, letting the alcohol swirl in her mouth before swallowing it all down. "Kanako…died in a car accident over ten years ago." Naru gasps as Haruka shakes her head, a deep sigh escaping her. "Keitaro…he was right there. He was going to get hit by the car, but Kanako pushed him out of the way at the last second…she took the hit for him…and died in his arms." She quickly stands up and walks to the counter, not wanting the other girl to see the tears in her eyes.

"No!" the young woman whispers, covering her mouth with her hands. 'What have I done?' she thinks in horror. 'God he must hate me now!'

"Kanako," Haruka pauses for a moment before finishing, "Kanako wasn't a real Urashima." At the younger girl's confused expression, she continues, "My brother and his wife adopted her into the family when she was just a little girl, though Keitaro loved her and treated her just the same. He's got one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. He's always been that way."

"I-I can't believe what I said to him!" Narusegawa whispers, pulling her legs up to her chest. "After everything he's done to make the Hinata House…and our lives better…God…I do deserve to be kicked out."

Haruka slides the second drink over to the younger woman, who graciously accepts it, though she doesn't drink any just yet. "Yes, you do, but Keitaro doesn't think so. Despite everything that you've said and done to him, he doesn't place any real blame on you, none whatsoever."

"But…but why?"

The older Urashima gazes down at the drink in her hands, a brief moment of pity flashing in her eyes. "Because he saves all the guilt and blame solely on himself."

* * *

Kitsune sits in front of Keitaro with a hand placed over her heart, her eyes fully open and her saké completely untouched. "N-No…" she whispers out, tears in the corners of her eyes, "that's horrible."

The landlord nods solemnly, his cheeks quite flushed now due to the effects of the alcohol. "Right before her last breath, I promised Kanako that I'd make it into Tokyo University just for her, and not for that little girl I had made the same promise to five years earlier."

The fox eyed girl pushes this new info aside for a moment, pressing onto more important matters. "But you did it Kei," she replies, reaching over and gently taking his hand in her own, "you got into Tokyo U and now you're studying to be an archaeologist. You fulfilled your promise to your little sister."

A bitter smile plays itself across the landlord's face. "Yeah, but what good is it now?" At the other girl's confused look, he responds, "The point of making a promise to someone…well to me at least, is to strive forward to do something with all your heart and make the other person happy or proud of you when you accomplish it." Kitsune looks away, now understanding where he is going. "I got in…but now what? I fulfilled my promise to Kanako, but I still feel empty, unaccomplished. I'll never get the chance to walk up to her and say 'Hey Kanako, I did it. I got into Tokyo U just for you.' Do you know how that makes me feel?" He drops his saucer of saké and covers his face with his hands, his body racked with sobs.

Kitsune closes the distance between them and pulls the young man in close. One hand soothingly rubs his back while the other is placed on his face, her thumb caressing his cheek. "You poor guy," she softly whispers. "You've been through a lot of crap, a lot more than anyone should go through…and you've been holding it in all this time. I-I can't change the past…but I wanna help you have a better future." She slides back a bit and takes Keitaro's face in her hands, her squinted eyes boring into his. "I don't know which girl you'll want to stick with, me, Motoko or some other lucky girl, but I can tell you this…as long as you're the landlord here, I'll stay by your side and make sure you never feel alone again." The eldest tenant closes the distance between them and gives Keitaro a soft kiss on the lips.

She starts to back off when he suddenly leans forward and captures her lips in a deep, meaningful kiss. "Thank you Kitsune," he whispers while breaking away, "I really did need to get that off of my chest. You've been…so incredibly nice to me."

The smile on her face begins to retain its normal foxiness as she adjusts her position, now straddling the Tokyo U student's lap. "Cutie," she begins, her voice sounding a bit husky, "I've just begun to show you how…_nice_ I can be."

* * *

Back at the Café Hina, Haruka has just finished telling Naru everything she knows. The younger woman shakes her head in sadness, a few tears breaking free and falling on the table in front of her. "How can he take all the blame for everything that goes wrong around him? Its not healthy to put that much stress on your shoulders."

"I know, but Keitaro's more…resilient than your typical guy," Haruka answers, reaching over and taking Naru's untouched drink, "both physically and mentally. He can take a lot of crap from anybody, yet still find it in his heart to forgive and forget. What he did earlier with you is a shining example." With a small nod, she downs half of the cup, a large sigh escaping her as she pulls back.

The Tokyo U aspirant suddenly gets to her feet, a determined look in her eyes. "I-I have to go back. I have to apologize to Keitaro. I don't want to go back home with this guilt hanging over me." She starts to walk away when Haruka firmly grabs her shoulder and pulls her back into her seat.

"Not yet. Keitaro's still upset and I don't want you to make him feel any worse right now." She taps her chin for a moment in thought. "When you get back home with your parents, you should write him a letter and explain yourself and apologize profusely. I know he's letting you come back, but it would be nice for your return to be more welcome and happier."

Naru wipes the tears from her eyes, a small smile on her pretty face. "Yeah, that's a better idea. You were always good at thinking these kinds of things up Haruka." She stands up and grabs her bags. "Well I guess I should be going now. I don't want to keep my parents waiting for me too long." With one last look to the older woman, Naru turns around and walks to the entrance. She unlocks it and leaves to return to her real home.

As soon as the door closes, Haruka gets to her feet and unsteadily walks to the door, the alcohol she was drinking starting to kick in a bit. She locks the door and leans her back against it, sliding down to the floor. "What a day," she sighs out loud. "I'm glad the situation with that stupid girl has been slightly resolved, but I'm still worried about Keitaro." She looks up to the ceiling, an unusual display of sadness running across her lovely features. "That was the first time I've heard him mention Kanako's name out loud since shortly after she died." A light sigh escapes her lips. "I wonder how different things would've been if she were still alive."

* * *

**Two Months Ago…**

* * *

Far away in Tokyo General Hospital, a young woman sleeps in her hospital bed. The many cuts, bruises, broken bones and other near fatal injuries she sustained many years ago have completely healed, though she still sleeps, and is presumed to never awaken, especially after being in this long of a coma. Only a handful of people outside the hospital know that this young woman is still alive, but they have all decided that it's for the best to let everyone else think that she is gone. They don't want anyone else to go through the pain of knowing that she is alive, but will never wake up…especially her bigger brother.

The still silence of the room is only broken by the monotone beeping of the heart monitor. Suddenly, there is a slight change in the girl's breathing. The heart monitor spikes once, then goes back to normal. Several uneventful minutes pass when it happens again, but this time it continues on. As a sign, her body starts to move as well. Her fingers begin to twitch ever so slightly, and her eyes flutter lightly. All medical devices monitoring her begin to beep and sound off rapidly as a rare, unexpected event occurs…she is waking up.

Her entire body, which has lied perfectly still for about a decade, begins to shift and move as a soft moan escapes her. Suddenly, her entire body goes still again and the monitors slowly go back to normal. For a minute, it looks as if she has returned to her eternal slumber once more…when her eyes snap open. She blinks several times, her eyes adjusting to actually being used again. Her heart monitor begins to increase as she looks around, her confusion and fear quickly growing at the unfamiliar surrounding she is in. She opens her mouth to speak and in a dry, hoarse voice whispers out, "Onii-chan?"

* * *

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's notes**: Well, this chapter sure has a lot of emotions and surprises in it now don't it? I know the ending has a bit of a soap operaish feel to it, but this was one of my intentions when I originally started this fic. Pretty soon I'll introduce Kanako into this fic, as well as another Love Hina favorite character. Do you have any watermelon? She sure does!

On other news, I'm like a page or so close to finishing my next chapter of 'Family Affairs.' It should be done soon, as long as I keep focused and don't get distracted on other activities, like drinking. I'm sure some of you might've realized that the drinks Haruka mixed were Jack Daniels and CocaCola, or Jack Coke. It's damn strong and gets the job done, but drink responsibly and only when you're of age! Okay, that's my Good Samaritan act for the year so please wait just a few days or so and I should have the next chapter of FA up and posted, which will eventually be followed by both of my Inu-Yasha fics. – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon(at)Y!**


	13. The Tides of Change

**Love Hina**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2005 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga. It's an AU from the very beginning so some of the characters may act a bit OOC here and there, please bear with me. Things have been tough, but I am resilient and I will continue to pump out great-quality stories for this and my other fics. I promise.  
_

**Different Promises  
Chapter 13:  
The Tides of Change**

Two days have passed since the whole incident between Keitaro and Naru and things have finally settled down around the Hinata House and everyone has adjusted to one of its longest staying tenants not being present for the present. Shinobu was very upset at Naru's eviction at first and broke into hysterics at even the mention of her name for the first day, but Keitaro quickly had a deep, heartfelt talk with the young chef and assured her that Naru is in fact not evicted and will return probably within a week or so. After that, the young girl's mood rapidly improved and she seemed to warm up to her 'sempai' even more for having such a kind and forgiving heart.

* * *

In expectance of Motoko's return later in the evening from her kendo club's training camp, everybody is pitching in and cleaning up the dormitory. Even Kitsune is lending a hand, though her idea of helping to clean is to pick up her saké bottles she has scattered in random places all throughout the Hinata House and finish them off. Within twenty minutes of her 'help', she is passed out on the new cozy couch in the living room, the warm early afternoon sun and a pillow Keitaro placed under her head after discovering her passed out form helping to make her rest very comfortable.

Su originally opted to use a few of her new inventions to help clean at a much faster and efficient pace, but since everyone has had a taste of what her inventions can do, they hastily convinced her to not 'improve' in the cleaning and just do it by hand. With an adorable pout, she agreed and is now downstairs furiously dusting anything she can reach whether it is the furniture, the walls or a passed out Kitsune.

The landlord is cleaning the second floor with his youngest tenant, the two holding rags in front of them and running back and forth scrubbing the old wooden floors to make them shine. Though Keitaro is working hard, his mind is otherwise elsewhere…namely on all the women he lives with.

He was already pretty close to Kitsune before but when he revealed his tragic past to her, she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Unfortunately for them both Su decided at that moment to barge in with her sleeping gear, intending to bunk with the landlord until Motoko's eventual return. Kitsune, having experienced the young foreign girl's sleeping habits firsthand, made a very hasty retreat, but not before giving the landlord a quick peck on the cheek and a wink with untold promises behind it.

That night Keitaro learned a new level of pain courtesy of Su. Though he trained heavily with Seta and was accustomed to some pretty rough beatings from the older and much more experienced man on a regular basis during their excavations and the occasional spat with Sarah, nothing would have ever prepared him for the human pain machine called Kaolla Su. He quickly found out while drifting off to sleep that she has a certain…habit of grabbing things while she sleeps and pulling them into a painful, no escape, ultra glomp, squeezing the landlord so hard that he was sure he could feel his spine rearrange.

He spent a quarter of the night struggling in vain to free himself but soon succumbed to the inevitable. As Keitaro gave in, he discovered to his immense surprise that the young girl softened her grip on him, as if she was able to sense his tension leave. Shortly after she loosened her killer glomp, she muttered out, "Big brother," while snuggling into him. It was in that moment that he began to understand Su a bit more than he originally did before. Despite her perpetually cheerful nature, she is still just a thirteen-year-old girl who is living very far from her home country, her family and any old friends she had. What she needs more than anything is for someone to make her feel like _this_ is her home too. With his trademark 'make 'em all swoon' smile, Keitaro pulled the young girl closer and they both had a great nights sleep, both that night and the night after.

After that incident, the young landlord has now vowed to himself to spend more time with all his tenants and learn as much about them as he can. He has already set up some plans for the two youngest tenants and will set them into motion very soon. Keitaro smiles to himself while cleaning the floor, thinking of how much fun Shinobu and Su will have on their day out.

As the young unofficial chef of Hinata House pushes her rag across the floor she steps on a slick spot and stumbles forward a bit but manages to catch herself before she falls flat on her face. Unfortunately she stopped moving to regain her balance and Keitaro, who is still lost in thought, is only a short distance directly behind her and still coming forward. He looks up just in time to get a face full of Shinobu's derrière.

The young girl's face instantly reddens to shades never before reached as she feels the landlord's face push into her backside. "S-S-S-Sempai!" she stutters out, too shocked to move, "wh-what are…I…um…"

Keitaro quickly backs off and rubs the back of his head, a light blush gracing his face. "Heh, sorry about that Shinobu," he apologizes while staring at the floor, "I should've been paying more attention to everything around me." He places his hands down in front of him and politely bows to her. "Please forgive me for my foolishness."

Shinobu turns around and faces the man who, just moments ago, had his face pressed up against her most private of places. 'I know it was an accident,' she thinks, 'but he was still the first guy to ever touch me…down there. It felt funny…but it was a good kind of funny.' That last thought deepens her blush even more and before Keitaro gets a chance to look up, she leaps to her feet and rushes away to her room, covering her face with her hands.

The landlord sits back up, a mixture of confusion and sadness playing across his face. "I guess she's a bit upset with me." With a regretful sigh, he returns to his work. "I'll finish with this floor then go up to her room for a talk. I really hope she'll have calmed down a bit by then."

* * *

Some distance away sitting on the back seat of a school bus, Motoko stares out the window next to her, watching the scenery as it passes by, her expression jumping back and forth between boredom and anticipation. The training trip with her kendo club went along as well as could be expected…even better considering that they have left much earlier then originally planned, but now that it's over all she wants to do is go back to her home…back to her friends…back to Keitaro.

As her mind wanders onto the landlord who has stolen her heart, a faint blush graces her beautiful face. 'It has only been a few days,' she thinks to herself, ' but without him around, it has felt like it was much longer.' That last thought gets her to look up in surprise. 'I…I cannot believe how attached I have gotten to him in such a short time. What is it about him that makes me feel so…good?'

Memories flash through her mind of Keitaro…the day she first met him, their first sparring match and the accidental kiss that followed, when she first realized she had developed feelings for him shortly afterwards, when she had fallen asleep in his arms and how warm and comfortable and complete she has felt, their first date followed by their first amazing official kiss and of course the time when she saw him nearly nude in the shower and how every tiny drop of water slowly slid down his slim, yet muscular frame and…

"AAAAHHHHH!" the swordswoman shouts as she feels a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her little daydream. She looks up to see one of her fellow kendo club members Faye gazing at her from above the seat in front of her, looking quite shocked at the other swordswoman's outburst.

"Um…are you okay Motoko?" she hesitantly asks. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."

"Y-Yes, I am fine," she answers while placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "I was just lost in thought. I apologize for losing focus and startling you like that." She diverts her gaze back out the window, mentally berating herself for loosing focus and letting her guard down so easily. 'Damn,' she thinks, 'it has been a while since I have done such a thing…but I cannot help it. Whenever my mind focuses on Keitaro, everything else around me becomes…insignificant.' She pauses for a moment at the faintest blushes graces her cheeks. 'Normally I would think that this is a burden…but thinking about him makes me feel so good inside that I simply cannot think of it as such.' With a light frown, she gazes back out of the bus window, her thoughts once again returning to the young landlord. A smile quickly replaces her frown.

* * *

Up in her room, Shinobu is curled up on her bed cradling a rather large and quite adorable stuffed teddy bear that her sempai gave her for her birthday not too long ago. A look of confusion mars her cute young face. Ever since Keitaro's face accidentally pressed into her rear, she has felt a warm, tingling sensation down there ever since…something she has never felt before. 'What is happening to me?' she thinks to herself. 'Why do I feel so funny? And why do I want sempai to…to do that to me…again?'

A light knocking on her door interrupts her thoughts. "C-Come in," she quietly replies. The young lady's eyes widen as the door slides open and Keitaro walks in, carefully watching her. "Sempai!" the young woman squeaks out, her face instantly reddening several shades, a fact that doesn't go unnoticed by the landlord.

'Jeeze, I guess she's still upset about earlier,' he thinks while nervously rubbing the back of his head. He slides the door shut, takes a couple of steps in, and then kneels down in front of his youngest tenant. "I'm really sorry about earlier Shinobu," he apologizes again. "I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and…well it was all my fault." He looks away while rubbing the back of his head. "I hope you're not angry at me for being a big fool." His eyes widen as the young girl suddenly leaps forward and wraps her arms around the landlord very tightly, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Oh sempai!" she wails while sobbing onto his shirt, "I could never be angry or hate you…never!" She sniffs a few times and then adds, "I'm sorry I made you worried about me."

Keitaro sighs softly and places his hand on top of the young chef's head, gently stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down. After a few moments, she has and he disengages himself from her and moves her up so they are eye-to-eye. "Shinobu," he calmly begins, "you have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing's your fault, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." The landlord begins to smile brightly as a thought comes to him. "Tell you what, I was planning on taking you and Su out for a whole day soon, you know, just the three of us doing whatever you girls wanted, but how about I take just you out instead?" At Shinobu's surprised glance, he adds, "I can always take Su out some other time and I don't know a whole lot about you…and I'd really like to." He reaches over and gently wipes away her tears. "So how about it Shinobu, would you like to spend the day with me…sorta like a date?"

The young lady's breath catchers in her throat. 'A d-date?' she thinks to herself, 'with sempai?' It takes her a millisecond to decide her answer. With a furious blush, she nervously nods once.

The landlord smile widens. "That's great!" He stands up from his spot of the floor. "Well I'm gonna get back to work now. You can come down and help me if you want. I was going to ask Su to help too…but her idea of helping scares me a little." Her scratches the back of his head with a chuckle while Shinobu giggles mildly. "Later." He turns around to leave…only to walk right into the doorframe with a resounding **thunk**. Keitaro stumbles backwards while grasping his face and his heel gets caught on the youngest tenant's rug, causing him to fall backwards, his head landing comfortably on Shinobu's lap.

Just as their eyes meet, the door slides open and Su comes rushing in waving around a large feather duster with a bounce to her steps. Her deep green eyes focus onto the pair on the ground as a wide grin spreads across her face. She turns around and yells, "Heyas, Keitaro and Shinobu are getting freaky in here!" out the door.

The landlord and his youngest tenant both blush a deep crimson. Keitaro quickly gets to his feet and rushes towards Su, who lets out a shrill giggle before rushing out the door while her favorite plaything gives chase. "Su! That wasn't what it looked like! I swear!" he shouts in desperation.

The young chef covers her mouth with her hand and giggles lightly. She gets to her feet and dusts of her skirt before staring out her open door, her eyes filled with admiration and deep affection. "I can't believe sempai sort of asked me out on a date!" She begins to spin around her room with her arms spread wide open. "I'm in heaven!"

* * *

Back downstairs Kitsune is unpleasantly awakened by thunderous footsteps that are getting louder and louder. She opens her eyes just as Su leaps over the couch she's napping on and continues on her way while looking extremely happy. The fox-eyed woman sits up just in time to collide with Keitaro, who was still giving chase after the young foreigner. The two fall to the floor and the landlord quickly grabs Kitsune and twists their bodies so he takes the brunt of the fall. The landlord's body hits the floor, though the fall was a lot softer than he expected. He relaxes and places a hand over his eyes, the chase after Su and collision with Mitsune having taken a bit out of him.

On top of him, the eldest resident shakes off her surprise at what just happened. 'Okay,' she slowly thinks, 'I just woke up cause of Su makin too much damn noise…again. She then jumped over the couch I was so peacefully sleeping on and then I sit up to shout at her and the next thing I know…someone hits me from behind and I fall down.' She opens her eyes only to come face to face with her handsome landlord. 'And lookie what I have here!' she adds with a wide smile. "My, my Keitaro," the fox-eyed woman begins in a sultry voice, "if I'd a known you were gonna be so frisky today, I woulda worn something a little more…entertaining!" She leans down and playfully kisses his nose.

Keitaro mildly blushes at the woman's antics. He smirks as a sudden thought comes to him. "Well since you're all up and spunky now Kitsune, then you'll have no trouble helping again to clean this place up."

"Sorry hun," she says while hastily sitting up, "but all work and no saké makes big sister a very dull girl." She stands up and sits back onto the couch, crossing her legs and smiling cheerfully.

The landlord sits up and mutters, "I know you're a great person and all, but do you ever do anything else around here besides lounge around and drink?" He puts his hands on the floor and is about to push himself to his feet when he realizes something. "And why did you call yourself 'big sister'? I'm almost a whole year older then you."

The saké expert of the dorm shrugs her shoulders in casual indifference. "It just sounds good to me." She pauses to chuckle slightly. "Now I don't really appreciate all that 'only drinking and relaxing' thing ya just said there. I do plenty more around here…in fact," she pauses to smirk widely as a sudden thought comes to her, "I've got a very, _very_ important job to do tonight." At the landlord's inquisitive look, she leans in very close to where their noses are practically touching. "Don't tell me you forgot that it's Monday?" Keitaro's clueless expression causes her smile to turn a good deal slyer. "My 'private time' remember?"

As he finally realizes what the lovely oldest tenant is talking about, the Tokyo University student's face becomes an impressive shade of red. "_K-K-K-Kitsune_!" he stammers out while sliding backwards as fast as his feet can take him, slamming into the wall hard enough to shake the pictures hanging a few feet away.

Mitsune crawls forward slowly, looking much like a predator stalking its prey…which in a way is exactly what she is doing. She puts her hands on either side of the landlord and leans towards him, giving Keitaro a rather good look down her V-neck shirt to her rather ample assets. "You know," she begins while leaning forward even more, "my offer still stands hun. My door is open for you anytime. All you gotta do is open the door." She pauses to give the young man a kiss on his neck. "I promise you…" she is cut off by a stern voice from the front door.

"Whatever you promise," a woman begins who is wearing a dark blue high school girl's uniform and a large straw-hat covering her face, "I am sure you would have waited to do until I had returned yes?" She lifts up the hat, revealing their resident swordswoman, finally returned.

"MOTOKO!" Keitaro and Kitsune simultaneously shout while leaping to their feat, one looking utterly delighted while the other is trying to hide their displeasure…you guess which one's which.

The aforementioned young woman nods with a light smile. "Yes, I am back from my trip a little earlier than expected," her smile is quickly replaced with a frown, "and I had expected a much more welcome sight upon my return." Her eyes slowly move back and forth between the two in front of her, an accusatory glare in her eyes.

The Tokyo U student rubs the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Yeah…well um…you know how Kitsune is. She was just teasing me a little bit." Acting on impulse, he suddenly pulls Motoko in for a warm embrace. "I missed you while you were gone," he softly whispers into her ear, earning a rather pleasant shiver to course through her body as he hits her one weak point.

Despite trying to appear stern Motoko's façade quickly disappears as she allows herself to fall into the landlord's arms, feeling truly content for the first time in days. 'This,' she thinks, 'is where I belong.'

Kitsune watches the two with increasing discomfort. 'I know Motoko and I agreed to take turns going out with him and all…but I gotta admit I really liked having him all t' myself these last few days.' She looks away and uncomfortably tries to look anywhere but the cute looking couple who have just deepened their embrace, not paying any attention to anyone nearby. 'Alright…something better happen to break this touching little moment up soon cause I'm just about at my limits here.'

As if some guiding force had answered her call, Su and Shinobu make their appearance on the main floor, undoubtedly attracted to both Keitaro and Mitsune's shouting…and the name they had shouted as well. The young foreigner squeals in utter delight at the sight of her best friend and favorite bedmate (the yummy smelling landlord comes in a very close second) and rushes forward at top speed, shouting, "MO-TO-KO!" She leaps into the air with her arms and legs spread wide open.

The swordswoman's extensive training kicks into full gear as she swiftly moves Keitaro out of the way and catches her young friend, not even losing her balance at the force in which Su came at her with. Next to them, Kitsune murmurs a small prayer of thanks for the young girl's impeccable timing. "Hello Su, I have missed you." The younger of the two easily squirms around the much taller girl so now she is on her back with her arms and legs wrapped around her in a piggyback style, grinning from ear to ear. Motoko ruffles her hair affectionately for a moment before turning her attention towards the young dark blue haired girl. "It is nice to see you as well Shinobu."

"Hello Motoko," the youngest tenant greets with a slight bow, "you're home earlier than we thought you'd be." She pauses for a moment to frown lightly. "We were so close to finishing up cleaning our home too! We wanted to surprise you." She tries to pout at her and look upset but at her current happiness to have Motoko back home she looks more incredibly cute than anything.

Motoko smiles and places a hand on top of the youngster's head. "Well if that is the case then I apologize for coming back as soon as I have and ruining your surprise…but you shouldn't worry yourselves over me like this. I appreciate it, I truly do, but none of this is necessary." She leans down to pick up her traveling pack and her sword Shisui. "All that I want right now is bring my belongings back to my room and take a dip in the hot spring…possibly with some of your delicious tea to help me feel even better Shinobu," she adds with a sly smile at the young girl.

"Of course!" she replies with a brilliant smile of her own, "I'll be right back with some tea." She quickly rushes off into the kitchen.

Keitaro and Kitsune both step back to allow the resident swordswoman to enter fully. "So how was your kendo trip?" the fox-eyed woman asks in a casual manner, hiding her frustration quite well. 'Damn,' she thinks to herself, 'if you'd of just come back later like you were supposed to…this whole rivalry thing woulda been done and over with and my Kei-baby woulda been all mine.' She mentally sighs at the indignity of it all. 'Sure she told me to keep my hands to myself…but who does she think she's kiddin? They don't call me 'Kitsune' just cause of my eyes!'

"It was…uneventful," Motoko replies after a moment's hesitation. She is about to say something else about her trip when she suddenly realizes something. "By the way, where is Narusegawa?" Luckily enough, she doesn't notice the two older people near her to visible tense. "I had expected her to come down and at least say hello…or is she too busy studying for her upcoming Tokyo U entrance exams?"

"Naru doesn't live here right now!" Su cheerfully replies, doing a back flip off of her favorite playmate and expertly landing on her feet. "She left the same day you did!"

Motoko raises an eyebrow in surprise. "She left?" At the young foreigner's enthusiastic nod, she continues, "Why did Narusegawa leave…and where to?"

Su opens her mouth and starts, "Well…"

Kitsune quickly interrupts, "…Well! Naru went to spend some time with her parents." She takes half a glance at Keitaro before going on, "It's been a really long time since they've seen each other and all…and of course Naru's been kinda stressed with all that studyin' she does and those all-nighters. I think some time off's just what the doctor ordered for our Naru."

The swordswoman nods with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm, that is a good idea. There is no need for Narusegawa to overwork herself into a right state. Yes, some time away will be for the best for her." She nods to everyone present. "Now if you will excuse me, I must take my belongings to my room."

As Motoko walks away, Kitsune rubs her eyes with a relieved sigh. The landlord turns towards her, a questioning look on his face. "Why did you lie to Motoko for?"

"Would ya rather tell her the truth? The full truth?" Keitaro squirms uncomfortably in response. "The way I see it," the fox-eyed woman continues, "is the less ole Motoko knows about the whole thing between you and Naru…the better for everyone. I know she can be a bit of the jealous type and I don't want Naru's return bein anything less than friendly. I also don't want her losin any trust in any of us cause of this."

The young Tokyo U student scratches the back of his head with an unsure expression. "I…I guess you make a point…but I don't like being dishonest with Motoko…or any of you girls." He looks away as a bit of pain flashes in his eyes. "It's been a long time since I've felt this comfortable around women and I don't want to do anything that would make you girls think any less of me."

Kitsune reaches forward and caresses his cheek. "Trust me hun," she gently whispers, "you keep bein all nice and sweet and yourself and you'll never have to worry about that ever happenin…" she pauses to lean in and give Keitaro a chaste kiss on the lips, "…especially to me."

* * *

Nearly two hours later, the entire gang is sitting down at the dining room table, all enjoying another spectacular meal courtesy of their young resident chef. Though nobody can see Su's face with how fast she is shoveling her giant pile of food into her mouth, her smile is just a tiny bit wider then usual. Motoko has filled them all in about her class kendo trip and the progress of both herself and the rest of her club. The other three all listen in and chat idly here and there. They are about halfway through their meal when all of a sudden they all hear someone knocking at the front door. The small group all look at one another in confusion, neither expecting anyone to come anytime soon.

With a shrug, Keitaro stands up and walks over to the front door and opens it, expecting it to possibly be his aunt or even Naru…though they wouldn't have needed a reason to knock and would have just normally walked in while announcing their entrance. The lovely young woman who is standing on the other side definitely is not someone he had expected to see…at least not until he started classes again back at Tokyo U. "Kei-kun?" the spacey anemic begins, not quite believing her eyes. She suddenly shouts, "Kei-kun!" as she lunges forward and tackles the young landlord in a warm embrace, a large smile gracing her pretty face. "Oh Kei-kun, I'm so happy to see you again!"

The young man is of course completely stunned by this unexpected turn of events. He doesn't return the embrace but does manage to mutter out a strangled, "Mu…Mu-chan?"

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's notes**: Hello to all you _extremely_ patient fans. I have been gone from this story and many others for a long time. I majorly suck ass, I know. I've been trying to write as often as I can, but I can't find that old fire, that old passion I used to have. I remember being able to write at least two full stories and have them posted all in a single day. Nowadays I'm lucky to get even half a page done a week. **sigh** I'm not as good as I used to be…not nearly as good at all. I'm gonna get back to work on my Inu-Yasha fics…I've been reading through the manga again and all my old stories to get back in touch with the characters and their personalities. I can't promise that I'll have anything posted soon, but I'll do the best I can.

Now to Love Hina business: well boys and girls, I'm sure you weren't expecting mr to bring in Mutsumi so soon now didn't you? And they both remember each other and their childhood names as well! What a twist! You'll find out more…much more in the next chapter. – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon**(at)**Y!**


	14. Recuperation

**Love Hina**

_Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2006 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved._

_Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga. It's an AU from the very beginning so some of the characters may act a bit OOC here and there, please bear with me. Things have been tough, but I am resilient and I will continue to pump out great-quality stories for this and my other fics. I promise._

**Different Promises  
Chapter 14:  
Recuperation**

* * *

**A Month and a Half Before Recent Events…**

* * *

A pretty young sixteen-year-old woman grasped the rails on each side of her as she pushed her slowly strengthening body to take another step forward. Her arms shook in fatigue and she gasped in each breath, her body covered in perspiration from her efforts. Her parents stood on either side of her, both cheered her on and told her that she's doing a wonderful job while her tiny old grandmother and her physical therapist were just a short distance in front of her and beckoned her forward with wide, inviting smiles. The metal bars she was holding were shiny and cold, but they were sturdy and more than strong enough to keep her holding up her petite body. She wanted to stop, she was hurting and wanted to lie down but her mommy and daddy told her that she needed to do this to get stronger…and that once she got strong enough they would take her to see her onii-chan. That was more than enough motivation to keep her going without complaint.

The recently awakened coma victim took another step when suddenly her legs gave way under her and the strength in her arms failed. She fell to the floor in a heap and a strangled sob escaped her as her right leg folded uncomfortably under her. In an instant her daddy was at her side and gently pickws her up in his arms. "I'm sorry Daddy," she meekly said while silent tears rolled down her cheeks, "I tried, I tried really hard."

"I know you did honey," he softly replied, "and you did great. We're all so proud of you." The older man placed his daughter in her wheelchair and kissed her forehead, her legs then getting a much-deserved rest.

Kiki the physical therapist, a kind and overly energetic woman in her early thirties, checked the charts on her clipboard and smiled brightly, her bright white and perfectly even teeth almost painful to look at directly. "Your daughter is progressing wonderfully Mr. and Mrs. Urashima!" she said in a pumped up way, her squeaky, almost childish voice got both parents to wince slightly. "She is getting stronger everyday and I'm ever so confident that she will be back to normal and walking around in no time!"

"Well that's good news," the diminutive elder woman responded while she patted the hand of the now sleeping girl in the wheelchair. "Poor Kanako's been asleep over half of her life and I don't want anything holding her back from leading a healthy normal life now that she's awake."

Her daughter-in-law moved next to her adopted daughter and squeezed her shoulder gently. "I agree. This family has gone through enough heartache for the last ten years from that tragedy. Now we can finally move forward."

Mr. Urashima rubbed the back of his head in a move that was already quite regularly mirrored by his son. "One thing that does worry me is how both my little sister and Keitaro are going to take this news. They both thought Kanako died in the accident and we never said anything to them to make them believe otherwise."

"Well back then we thought letting them think she was gone was the best," Granny Hina sighed while she shook her head. "I still remember it like it was yesterday…"

* * *

**Ten Years Ago…**

* * *

In the middle of a growing and very somber crowd, Mrs. Urashima sobbed uncontrollably into her adopted daughter's still and lifeless little body as an ambulance rushed to the scene. Young Keitaro stood just outside the gathered group of neighbors with tears running relentlessly down his face. His eyes were red and puffy from crying yet they were also filled with a strong fierce determination that was quite an uncommon sight in the normally happy-go-lucky boy.

The ambulance came to a stop a few feet from the crowd who all parted as two paramedics came rushing out with a stretcher. They halted in front of her and both held in their gasps at the state of the young girl in the crying woman's arms. Acting quickly, they gently grabbed Kanako, put her on the stretcher and got both her and her mother into the ambulance and drove of in a rush. Just as the ambulance left their sight a police car came into sight. The officer walked out and did his job, taking everybody's eyewitness report of what happened while his partner made her way over to the driver of the vehicle that struck Kanako who was sitting on the pavement next to his car, a completely stunned look on his face.

* * *

A short while later Mrs. Urashima nervously paced back and forth inside the Tokyo General Hospital's waiting room. She was in complete hysterics upon entering the hospital with the paramedics, mainly due to the fact that Kanako's little heart stopped it's frail beating just moments before arriving at their destination. Several nurses and orderlies had to physically restrain her from entering the O.R. to get to her little girl. They stayed by her side as she broke down into never-ending tears and collapsed onto the floor. As she regained her composure she had begun to pace back and forth frantically, the nurses and orderlies watching her with regret.

After around ten minutes or so, Mr. Urashima and Granny Hina barged in after leaving a seventeen-year-old Haruka to watch over Keitaro. Mrs. Urashima rushed into her husband's arms for some much needed comfort. She tried to explain the situation to both her husband and mother-in-law, but all that had come out was her sobs and ragged breaths…though there was no need. Their neighbors and a police officer had informed them of everything that occurred.

Soon a doctor walked out into the waiting room to tell the parents the news. "Mr. and Mrs. Urashima?" he calmly began. When aforementioned people nodded, the doctor continued on, "The good news is that your daughter Kanako has miraculously survived her terrible accident and will make a full recovery in due time." Mrs. Urashima burst into tears once more, these being tears of joy, and buried her face into her husband's chest while he let out a sigh of relief, silent tears coming from the corners of his eyes.

Granny Hina however was not quite satisfied at the doctor. "I have a feeling that there is also some bad news here." As the doctor nodded the old woman impatiently begun to tap her foot on the ground. "Well out with it sonny."

With a sigh, he said, "The bad news is that because of the combination of her extensive injuries and head trauma…your daughter has slipped into a coma."

* * *

Mrs. Urashima sat down in a chair next to her daughter's hospital bed and gazed down at the sleeping child. She reached out and grasped the heavily bandaged girl's tiny hand in her own. The uneasy silence was only broken by the monotone beeping of Kanako's heart monitor that showed that her heartbeat was slightly weak but was holding steady.

The little girl's mother leaned forward to kiss her forehead with trembling lips. The woman's eyes were red and puffy but she did not cry. No…she was too grief stricken to even let out a single tear. "My baby girl," she muttered, "my poor little Kanako."

Outside the room Mr. Urashima sat down in a chair with his hands covering his face. His mother sat next to him and looked like her age was starting to catch up to her. Though she too was hurting terribly inside, she was probably the only one there who was still thinking clearly. The old woman absentmindedly patted her first-born child on the shoulder. "I don't care what that doctor said son," she slowly began, carefully thinking of what she was saying, "I believe in happy endings and I know my granddaughter _will_ wake up someday. It might take days, weeks and maybe even years but I know Kanako will open her eyes again, mark my words, and I will be here to help her get back on her feet and live the life she deserves to live."

"And…and I'll help too," Mrs. Urashima suddenly said from her place in the doorway, startling the two in front of her.

Mr. Urashima stood up and took his wife in his arms again, who gratefully fell into his arms. "I'm in too of course," he muttered out loud. He suddenly frowned as a sudden thought came to him. "What will we tell Haruka and Keritaro?" He felt his dear wife tense up as she remembered her sister-in-law and son.

"I have also been thinking about those two," Granny Hina said while looking grave. "My idea, though I despise to say it, is that we lead them to believe that Kanako did not survive the accident."

"WHAT?" Mrs. Urashima shouted in a sudden rage. "You want us to tell them she died!" Her husband seemed too outraged for words at the moment.

The old woman calmly shook her head. "No, no, you misinterpreted me dear. I could never lie to those two about this and I know you would never be able to either. I would only make them think that she did. Trust me, I am thinking about this more than you think. Haruka is about to graduate soon and has several colleges set in mind to possibly attend and I don't want her to have this holding her back. You know she's a lot more caring of a person than she lets on and I know she'll never stray far from here if she knew the truth. She loves her niece and she'd visit her all the time in hopes of seeing her wake up and completely brush her future aside."

She paused to let out a sigh. "Keitaro…well I'm sure you know what he is like and what he would do. That little boy is probably the most caring and compassionate child I have ever laid eyes on. He would spend day and night by his sister's side and there would be nothing we could to stop him. I've sensed such great potential in him and it would pain me too much to see him waste away next to Kanako. He's got too much going for him just to simply toss it all away."

Mr. and Mrs. Urashima thought hard about this for several moments. They didn't want Haruka and Keitaro to believe a false truth about Kanako's fate but then again what Granny Hina had said that they would do was something most likely to happen. Steeling themselves they looked down at the old woman in front of them. They looked into her eyes and firmly nodded once.

"Alright," Granny Hina replied, "it is settled then. Let me go and say goodbye to Kanako and then I will return to your house and set this into motion. You two can stay here as long as you like…I'll bring Keitaro back to the Hinata House with Haruka and me for the night." Her son and daughter-in-law both leaned down and fiercely embraced her. She whispered, "Don't worry, we will get through this."

"I know," Mr. Urashima muttered, his eyes tearing up, "and thank you mom."

* * *

**The Near Present…**

* * *

Kanako's eyes fluttered open and she let out a soft moan as she woke up after her short nap. She let out a small smile at the sound of soft purring on her left. The young Urashima reached over and petted the small black kitten next to her and whispered out, "Hi there Kuro." The little cat responded by leaning into the pet and purring even louder which got a slight giggle from her owner.

Two days after awakening, Kanako's grandmother came in to visit her with a gift. The young woman didn't know what to expect seeing as how her granny was always full of surprises, but she never expected to see the tiny old woman come walking in her hospital room with a tiny little kitty in her arms. "Here you go Kanako," her grandmother said with a warm smile, handing the animal to her stunned granddaughter, "this is for you. Since your mommy and daddy and I can't be around here all the time, the doctors gave you special permission and said you can keep a pet in your room to keep you company. Isn't that really nice of them?"

The youngest Urashima sibling looked up from her pet with a brilliant smile on her face that warmed the old woman's heart to no end. "Yes granny," she agreed, cradling the tiny animal in her arms while it slept peacefully. After a few moments of silently petting it, she muttered something out.

"What did you say dear?" Granny Hina kindly asked.

"Kuro," she replied a little louder. The young woman lifted the kitten up above her head and looked it up and down. The tiny black animal opened its eyes and cried out a small 'Meow' while Kanako smiled. "Her name is Kuro."

Back to the near present, Kanako scooted herself up in her hospital bed while Kuro made her way onto her owner's lap. The door in her hospital room opened and her grandmother entered carrying several school textbooks. "Ah, I see you're awake," the old woman said with a smile. "I hope your feeling better dear because I have another present for you." She handed the young woman an envelope. "There…open it."

Kanako did as she was told and pulled out a photograph from inside. Her eyes widened in surprise at who was in the picture. Though he was much older looking, there was no doubt in her mind who the man in the picture was. Keitaro, her dear onii-chan was sitting on a large rock in the photo while leaning forward slightly with a shovel keeping him from falling down. He was wearing black pants, a dark shirt and a white lab coat His head was tilted to the side and he was smiling softly. The young woman traced a finger around her older brother's head and muttered, "Onii-chan."

"I thought you'd like that," her grandmother replied with a chuckle. "That picture was taken several months ago when your brother was doing some excavating on a little island somewhere very far from here. He has quite a knack for archaeology."

The young woman listened with rapt attention as she always did whenever someone talked about her onii-chan, but for some reason they would not talk too much about him or her auntie Haruka…and she hasn't seen them since she's woken up either. They just would mainly tell her that they have both been doing very good and that she would see them once she got stronger to walk around.

Her granny had been visiting her every day since she woke up and would have her read books to both help give her a good education and to learn about a lot of things that have happened in the world while she was asleep. The old woman quickly discovered that Kanako was a brilliantly gifted young woman and absorbed information like a sponge. In the little over two weeks that she had been awake, the youngest Urashima sibling jumped up several grade levels in every subject she was being taught.

"Granny," she hesitantly began, "could you…could you tell me about onii-chan? I really want to know more."

Granny Hina smiled softly at her granddaughter. 'I might as well let her know now,' the thought to herself. 'She's been pushing herself pretty hard to get better and we've been quite unfair to keep her in the dark about the one person she's dying to see again.' The old woman sat down next to Kanako. "Well to start off he has become quite an exceptional young man. He is a lot like you remembered him years ago. He's still very kind and caring though he closed himself of after your accident." At the young woman's confused look, Hina elaborated, "he acted like normal around family but he distanced himself from his friends and he developed a slight fear of women. From what I was told he blamed himself for what happened to you and saw a little bit of you in every woman he met." She paused for a moment to sigh sadly. "It was very sad to see such a happy and outgoing kid become so down and depressed."

Kanako gazed down at the picture in her hands and felt her own depression start to settle in. "Onii-chan…I'm sorry." She lookd up as her granny placed a hand on her cheek.

"Don't feel sorry child, he may have been a little lonely and sad but that did help him to reach the one goal he strived to accomplish…he passed his tests and got accepted into Tokyo University."

The young woman's eyes widened in shock at that last part. "O-Onii-chan made it?"

Granny Hina nodded with a wondrous smile. "Yes he did and it was the happiest moment of his life. Your parents and I were there when he found his name on the 'Accepted List'. I did not think I could have been more proud of him until he turned around to us and said with tears in his eyes 'I did it…I did it all for Kanako'." She pauses to wipe a stray tear from her eye. "Now that was when I could not have been more proud of him."

Kanako looks down at the picture in her hands, tears dropping onto it from her eyes. "I'm…I'm so happy onii-chan," she mutters, "you made it in…you got in for me."

* * *

A week later the youngest Urashima sibling was back strengthening her body with the aid of her physical therapist. Ever since she saw what a handsome young man her onii-chan had become and heard of all of his accomplishments all in her name, she had found a new vigor in her that even she did not know she had. The young woman continued on with her lessons and learning everything at an incredible rate and put all her strength and willpower forth during her exercise sessions. It was becoming easier and easier to walk further and further though she would still need assistance from time to time when she lost her balance. She had also developed an interest in gymnastics from watching them on the television and also her family's style of martial arts. She had just started to do very light upper body cardio workouts to build up strength and endurance in her upper torso and would begin in lower body cardio once she could walk properly without assistance. Her progression was astonishing to say the least.

While she was sitting in her wheelchair, her father pushed her all the way to one end of the physical recuperation room and turned her around. Kanako looked up at the other end of the room where her mother and the physical therapist were waiting for her. It was roughly thirty-three feet from end to end, quite a distance for her to walk unaided when the best she had managed so far was only a little over ten feet

Mr. Urashima kneels down in front of his little girl and took her hands in his own. "Are you sure you want to do this so soon Ka-chan?" he calmly asked her. "You've been doing wonderful so far but your mother and I agree that this might be too much too soon."

She looked her daddy dead in the eyes, her resolve did not falter for even the slightest moment. "I want to do this daddy," she says confidently. "I don't want you or mommy to help me either. Only if I ask for it…okay?"

With a sigh, her father nodded. "Alright sweetie." He leans forward to kiss his baby girl on the forehead. "Good luck…I believe in you." He gets to his feet and moves to the side.

"I don't need luck daddy," she replied while placing her hands on the sides of her wheelchair and pushing herself up to her feet, "I'm doing this for onii-chan." She stands to her full petite height and takes the first step forward. 'I can do this,' she thinks to herself, 'I know I can.' Kanako moved slowly as usual and let her body adjust to the height she has grown since her long slumber and keep its balance properly. She had been getting better and her balance had been improving in the last few days.

The young woman continued onward while she ignored the cheering and encouragements from her parents since they would distract her and she needed to focus everything she had on her goal. Kanako continued on step-by-step and would stop from time to time if she felt her balance start to sway. She had taken thirteen slow steps and gone nearly a third of the distance when she felt her body begin to sweat from the excursion. After the next step her legs had begun to shake slightly. Kanako stood straight and closed her eyes, thinking to herself, 'I can do this. I can do this. Please just hold on a little longer. Onii-chan I can do this.' She opened her eyes back up and continued.

Her mommy and daddy watched on with bated breaths. Granny Hina had some very important business to attend to, something about her all girls dormitory the Hinata House, and could not attend. "C'mon Kanako," Mr. Urashima muttered, "you can do it."

"Come here baby," his wife whispered, "come over here to mommy. I believe in you."

As if she heard them, Kanako let out the briefest of smiles as she took another step. She had gone over a third of the way and was making her way to the halfway point when her right leg started to tighten up. She stopped again, her shirt clinging to her skin due to all the sweat that was pouring from her petite body. 'Don't do this now, don't give up on me.' Ignoring the pain in her leg she went on again.

After a few more steps her right leg had begun to cramp up as well. "No," she hissed through clenched teeth, "I can keep going." The young woman reached down and gingerly rubbed her thighs for a moment. She stood back up and progressed onward though the pain was starting to get worse and she was feeling dizzy.

A few more minutes passed and Kanako had passed the halfway point and was still going despite the terrible pain in her legs. Her eyes were watering and she was exhausted but she kept on walking…she kept on going. With each step of her left foot she would whisper out, "Onii," and with each step of her right she would finish, "chan." If her big brother could sacrifice his childhood for her then she could endure this pain…she could do anything.

Mrs. Urashima held in a breath as her daughter got closer and closer to her. 'She's going to do it,' she thinks in wonder, 'she can do this!'

The young woman, despite all her struggling and current physical pain, managed to muster out a small smile as she saw her goal just several meters away. Her breathing had become deeper and more haggard as she kept on. She raised her right foot and took yet another step but as her foot hit the floor, it buckled under the strain and she started to fall down. Her parents and physical trainer gasped and were about to rush forwards when Kanako managed to catch herself before she completely fell to the floor. "N-No," she stammered out loud enough for them to hear, "don't h-help me. I…I can do this."

Mr. Urashima looked across the room to his wife and could clearly see her distress even from this distance. He shouted, "You heard her dear, and we promised her. You know how we Urashima's are with promises." He chuckled as his wife slapped her forehead with a loud groan.

Kanako wiped the sweat from her eyes and gasped in several breaths while practically kneeling down. She took in a deep breath and braced herself as she pushed herself to her feet, the muscles in her legs screamed in protest. She tried to life her right leg up but was very upset to discover that both her right and left legs were pushed to their limit and the only thing keeping her up was sheer determination and willpower. 'Just a little more,' Kanako thought, 'please just keep up a little longer.' With a squeak of pain, the young woman shuffled her feet towards her mother with her arms spread out to keep what little balance she had left.

Mrs. Urashima watched her baby girl as she inched her way to her, her fingers twitched as she yearned to rush forward and take her daughter into her arms for doing so incredibly well. Even the physical therapist next to her was stunned silent at how well young Kanako was doing…and her not opening her mouth was quite a welcome thing.

The young Urashima woman kept shuffling forward, tears poured freely from her eyes and her face was quite flushed from pushing herself farther than she had ever gone before. With a strangled cry Kanako pushed her petite body across the ending point and collapsed into her mommy's awaiting arms. Her mother bust into tears and gushed out praises and congratulations to her little girl while her father ran across the length of the recuperation room to also praise his daughter.

Kanako had enough strength left in her to let out a small smile and whisper, "I did it," before slipping into a blissful sleep, her last thoughts being, 'Just wait onii-chan…I'm coming for you soon!'

**To be continued…**

* * *

**Author's notes**: Wow! This is the fasted I've updated a story in a long time! After the positive response I received after posting my 'The Rogue, the Witch and the Nightcrawler' X-Men: Evolution initial chapter I found more faith in myself and had more inspiration to do work on all of my fics. Since then I've added at least a page of material to almost all of my current stories and still have more ideas coming for all of them. I would like to thank you the loyal readers out there for staying so patient and faithful in me. It is you guys that drive me to keep up the quality of my fics and make them enjoyable to read.

I decided right after posting Chapter 13 of 'Different Promises' that I would make Chapter 14 more of a side-story that would focus on Kanako and her recuperation and a few of the things that have been happening to her since she awoke from her ten year long coma. I'm a bit worried that I overdid the end with her making the impressive walk across the large room. I wasn't planning on making it that long and I hope I didn't stretch it a bit too far. If you guys don't enjoy it I could cut it down a bit. – _lighthawkdemon_

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: **lighthawkdemon** (at) **Y!**


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